The Japanese Film Festival Ireland returns for its 15th edition this April, with a line-up of films that bring the best of Japanese cinema to towns and cities across the country.
Organised by The Embassy of Japan and access>CINEMA, this year’s Dublin festival line-up takes place at The Lighthouse where it promises something for everybody, including screenings ranging from the latest festival favourites to future cult classics.
This year’s programme showcases 19 films across 49 screenings, and features everything from the latest anime hits to acclaimed dramas to exciting indie discoveries. Festival goers can look forward to seeing the Irish premieres of exceptional new dramas such as Egoist, Great Absence, Ichiko, and Remembering Every Night.
Those searching for more light-hearted fare should seek out time-loop office satire Mondays: See You ‘This’ Week! and the playful horror-comedy Love Will Tear Us Apart.
The festival also pays tribute to the late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto with a special double bill at The Lighthouse featuring his beautiful final concert film Opus and Hirokazu Koreeda’s award-winning Monster which features Sakamoto’s final film score.
Anime fans too are in for a treat with the first Irish screenings of new titles Lonely Castle in the Mirror and Komada: A Whisky Family. Audiences will also be able to enjoy a special insight into Japanese culture and traditions with films such as Tsugaru Lacquer Girl and Yudo: The Way of the Bath.
Dublin audiences will also be able to catch this year’s classic screening, Shinji Somai’s coming-of-age drama Typhoon Club, which has been widely celebrated as one of the greatest Japanese films of the 1980s.
The festival will run nationally from April 9 – 27, with screenings in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Dundalk, Wexford and, for the first time, Bray.
Ticketing links and full listings are now available at jff.ie and at lighthousecinema.ie
Words: Martina Murray
JFF 2024 takes place in Dublin’s Light House Cinema, Wednesday April 11th to Tuesday April 16th
