Date: Friday 22 March, 13:00 (GMT)
Online Talk Event hosted on Zoom x
Which Japanese films are most memorable to you? Which left a lasting impression?
From spine-chilling horrors to KUROSAWA Akira’s classic samurai dramas, the striking (and rather violent) 90s films of TAKESHI Kitano to the internationally-acclaimed, thought-provoking films of KORE-EDA Hirokazu, and not to mention a variety of anime films, Japan has provided a huge breadth of cinematic inspirations for decades.
As part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024, and in view of its theme of Unforgettable: Memories, Times and Reflections in Japanese Cinema, this roundtable discussion reunites a panel of UK- and Japan-based experts in Japanese cinema from last year’s online talk series to reflect on Japanese films that embedded themselves in their minds, and to explore what makes Japanese cinema memorable.
Audiences are also encouraged to suggest a memorable Japanese film of their own when registering for the event, which may be picked up for discussion by the panel. x |
x This online event is free to attend but registration is essential. To reserve your space,
please book here. x |
| About the Speakers
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KIMBARA Yuka
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After graduating from Kwansei Gakuin University, KIMBARA became involved in film investment projects at a leasing company, which led her into the film industry. Since the 1990s she has conducted interviews and film reviews focusing on Japanese films. She is the author of Broken Girl - Girls Who Break Beautifully (2007), a collection of critiques examining the nature of girlhood and violence in film and co-author, with art director TANEDA Yohei, of Legendary Film Art Directors x Yohei Taneda (2014), a collection of interviews with art directors who were active during the golden age of Japanese cinema. In 2021, she planned, edited and compiled two books about SOMAI Shinji 20 years after his death: The Future of Somai Shinji, a collection of interviews with cast and crew members and Shinji Somai: The Worst Days of My Life, a collection of essays and interviews with SOMAI.
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ISHIZAKA Kenji
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After completing his Master’s degree in the Art Department of the Graduate School of Waseda University, ISHIZAKA started his career in film programming in 1990, when he joined the Japan Foundation as a Film Coordinator. Over the next 17 years, he organised and managed more than 70 projects for Asian & Arab cinema, including several film festivals. In 2007, he served as a Programming Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival for 12 years and became a Senior Programmer in 2020. ISHIZAKA has also made contributions to film education in Japan being appointed as a Professor at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image in 2011, and later as the Dean in 2017. He has also co-authored several books.
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Julian Ross
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A curator, researcher and writer based in Amsterdam. He is co-programmer of Doc Fortnight 2024 at The Museum of Modern Art, co-programmer of the 2024 Flaherty Seminar, and a member of the selection committee for Villa Medici Film Festival. He is an Assistant Professor at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society where he teaches and researches film and art history. He is also an editorial board member of Collaborative Cataloging Japan and co-curator of the exhibition Community of Images at Art Alliance, Philadelphia, opening this summer, on Japanese artists and filmmakers living and working in the United States in the 1960-70s.
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James Mudge
| James is a Film Producer, Writer and Director, and a well-known international film critic, with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. James is the owner of The Next Day, a UK-based film production, sales, communications and exhibition company, and has worked on a number of east-west production projects, film releases and commercials.
James is the Head Writer for the popular Asian cinema website easternKicks.com, and is the Festival Director of Chinese Visual Festival and the Co-Director of Focus Hong Kong, which have screened content from Chinese language speaking countries around the UK for over 10 years, working with the British Film Institute and attracting audiences of over 100,000.
Key works as a producer include the UK-Italy co-production horror feature Mostro Intruso Aspro (2023) and the short film The Old Civilian (2019), and as director the Scottish horror feature Fifty Six (2020) and the China-UK production Ganbei! (2019). x |
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Espen Bale (Moderator)
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Currently working at BFI National Archive. Also an independent writer and researcher specialising in Japanese experimental film and music. He holds a Master’s degree in Japanese Studies from SOAS, majoring in post-war Japanese Cinema and the Avant-garde. Since then he has written on the short films of MATSUMOTO Toshio as well as the lives of ICHIKAWA Kon and HASEGAWA Kazuo, the film Funeral Parade of Roses, and JISSOJI Akio’s film Poem for the BFI and Arrow Films. |
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The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 continues this March!
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www.jpf-film.org.uk to see what is on |
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| Follow us on:
Facebook: X: Instagram:
@japanfoundationlondon @jpflondon @jpflondon |
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