CJS's FALL 2006 FILM SERIES
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NIPPON CONNECTION FESTIVAL ON-TOUR
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In the Center for Japanese Studies’ fall series, selections from the renowned Nippon Connection Film Festival – a Frankfurt-based fest devoted to the best cutting-edge films of recent years – mingle with popular new films from some of Japan’s biggest names. |
September 15th ~ Train Man (Densha Otoko), Shosuke Murakami (director)
A hapless internet geek stands up to a group of thugs harassing a woman on the subway and is made over into a suave suitor – and unlikely folk hero – in this phenomenally popular tale, based on a true-life incident.
2005, 35mm, 101 min.
[Print and rights from Viz Pictures.]
September 22nd ~ Moon and Cherry (Tsuki to Cherry), Yuki Tanada (director)
When an alluring young woman joins an erotic writing class, she begins a game of sexual cat and mouse with a naïve college student. As they venture into more and more unpredictable territory in the bedroom, he begins to think she might be using him as a test subject for her fiction more than anything else. Note: This film contains sexual content.
2004, DV CAM, 82 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival On Tour Collection.]
September 29th~ Open Art: Animation, Various directors
Since 1999, the Open Art project has given short filmmakers an outlet for their work: First via their website, then through television broadcasts, festival screenings, and even cell-phone film downloads. Here, they present nine, cutting-edge animated films from their collection including Horu by Shiro Fujii; Doll by Piropito Musik Antihoney; Strange Little Red Riding Hood (Sekai Meisaku Gekijô - Akazukin-chan) by Natsumi Kai; Sakadachi-kun hitasura hashiru! by Tomoyasu Murata; Insanity by Katsuyuki Horiuchi; Alien Brothers by Shuusaku Kikunaga; Psycho Kicks by Makoto Inohara; Kashikokimono by Takahiro Hayakawa; and The Magic of Amelia (Amelia-san no Mahô) by Ekakiya.
2004-05, DV CAM, 50 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival On Tour Collection.]
October 6th ~ The Way of the Director (Eigakantoku ni Naru Houhou), Tomoko Matsunashi (director)
Two friends struggle to become filmmakers in Tomoko Matsunashi’s knowing, darkly comic satire of the Japanese film industry. Saito becomes a popular actress/director on the independent scene, while Kitagawa toils as a director-for-hire on porno films. When they meet again years later, Kitagawa suggests a dangerous collaboration that could bring them both fame – or at least infamy. Note: This film contains some disturbing images and frank sexuality.
2005, DV CAM, 94 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival on Tour Collection.]
October 13th ~ Visions of Frank, Various directors
In American cult cartoonist Jim Woodring’s eye-poppingly colorful comics, frogs, bears, cows, and other critters inhabit a surreal landscape where anything is possible. Inspired by one of Woodring’s most famous creations, the ever-changing Frank character, seven Japanese animators present this psychedelic anthology of shorts.
2003-05, DVD, 48 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival On Tour Collection.]
Also on October 13th ~ BMK (Big Magnum Killer), Mina Yonezawa (director)
A day at the beach turns into a rhythmic musical spectacle for one small girl in this animated short.
2005, DVD, 8 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival On Tour Collection.]
October 20th ~ Creeping Under Mosurin Bridge (Mosurin Bashi no Tamoto ni Hisomu), Toru Hano (director)
A neophyte journalist sets out to research a remote island community in this period piece set in late-1920s Japan. When primitive traditions come face-to-face with modernity, she learns that a fine line separates beauty and brutality.
2006, DVD, 106 min.
[Nippon Connection Festival On Tour Collection.]
October 27th ~ The Strange Saga of Hiroshi the Freeloading Sex Machine (Himo no Hiroshi/Sex Machine - Hiwai na Kisetsu), Yuji Tajiri (director)
Insects, money and carnality collide in this tale of a slacker who passes time mooching off of his girlfriend and participating in the latest vogue: cricket fighting. When his sweetie’s ex-husband challenges his honor by proposing a battle between their crickets, Hiroshi dives into the showdown with an animalistic fervor. Note: This film contains strong sexual content.
2005, 35mm, 64 min.
[Print and rights from the Stance Company.]
November 3rd ~ Ski Jumping Pairs: Road to Torino 2006, Riichiro Mashima and Masaki Kobayashi (directors)
Proving that there can never be too much of a good thing, a physicist and his twin sons pioneer a new sport: two Olympic skiers sharing the same set of skis, in mid-air. Based on an award-winning short, this sidesplitting mock documentary garnered a special award at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival.
2005, 35mm or DVD, 82 min.
[Print and rights from Avex Entertainment.]
November 10 ~ University of Laughs (Warai no Daigaku), Mamoru Hoshi (director)
Shall We Dance’s Koji Yakusho stars in this WWII-set tale of a government censor who finds his own collar loosened when he tries to curtail the subversive efforts of an irrepressible young comedy writer (Goro Inagaki).
2004, 35mm, 121 min.
[Print and rights from Pony Canyon.]
Fridays at 7:00 PM
Askwith Auditorium in Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(at the intersection of Tappan and Monroe)
Admission is FREE.
Parking is free after 6:00 p.m. at the University parking structures on Church Street and Hill Street.
Please click here for a map of the location.
For written directions, please click here.
RECENT FILM SERIES
Teens, Angst, and Rock 'N' Roll: Seishun Eiga, Then and Now - Summer 2006
Three Films - Fall 2005
Critics' Choice - Summer 2005
A Mizoguchi Retrospective - Fall 2004
Comedy and Crisis in a Growing Japan: The Films of Yamada Yoji - Summer 2004
The Other Anime - Fall 2003
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