September 30th: Howl’s Moving Castle (Directed by Hayao Miyazaki)
Hayao Miyazaki’s extremely successful follow-up to the Academy Award-winning SPIRITED AWAY (2001) is a mesmerizing, perplexing, and breathtaking interpretation of Diana Wynne Jones’s 1986 fantasy novel.

Further Information: Directed by Hayao Miyazaki; 2004; 35mm; 119 min.; Dubbed in English (Print and screening license permissions from Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.)

October 7th: Doudes’ka Ken (Directed by Akira Kurosawa)
Kurosawa’s first color feature is a revealing and rewarding work, infused with the kind of honesty that even a master director could only barely control on film. The one movie Kurosawa finished between 1966 and 1974, it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in the 44th Annual Academy Awards.

Further Information: Directed by Akira Kurosawa; 1970; 140 min.; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from Criterion Collection/Janus Films.)

October 14th: Millenium Actress (Directed by Satoshi Kon)
The late Satoshi Kon’s (1963-2010) second full-length film animates the story of a fictional documentary crew as they interview a famed actress. A fantastic and dramatic exploration of movie-making and Japanese film history, projected from the nuanced view of one of Japan’s few true anime auteurs.

Further Information: Directed by Satoshi Kon; 2001; 87 min.; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.)

October 21st: Ran (Directed by Akira Kurosawa)
Kurosawa’s fourth color film is a brilliant translation of Shakespeare’s KING LEAR. A landmark movie in the career of an already internationally renowned artist, its elegant cinematic architecture bursts with color at moments where traditional movie logic would fail. RAN defined Kurosawa’s career for a generation of international film fans.

Further Information: Directed by Akira Kurosawa; 1985; 162 min,; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from Rialto Pictures.)

October 28th: House (Directed by Nobuhiko Kobayashi)
Former TV commercial and experimental film director Obayashi’s first theatrical feature. HOUSE is a hypnotizing, psychedelic journey through Japanese popular culture and pre-Bubble film history. A hilarious and terrifying time capsule of Japanese horror film making. Not to be missed!

Further Information: Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi;1977; 88 min.; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from the Criterion Collection/Janus Films.)

November 4th: Memories of Matsuko (Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima)
Director Tetsuya Nakashima updates the extravagance of late 1970s films like HOUSE with an even more melodic and melodramatic sensibility. A rewarding rainbow drama of mistaken choices and missed opportunities that will leave you smiling through your tears.

Further Information: Direcetd by Tetsuya Nakashima; 2006; 130 min.; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print & screening license permissions from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc.)

November 11th: 13 Assassins (Directed by Eiichi Kudi)
Notorious and internationally renowned director Takashi Miike continues his ambitious project of reinventing and reinvigorating Japanese genre film with this remake of Eiichi Kudi’s 1963 new wave samurai movie. Starring Koji Yakusho from MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and the original SHALL WE DANCE.

Further Information: Directed by Takashi Miike; 2010; 141 min.; 35mm (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.)

November 18th: United Red Army (Directed by Koji Wakamatsu)
A pioneer of Japanese Pink Film in the 1960s, Koji Wakamatsu maintained a career as one of the most outspoken directors of postwar Japanese counter-culture cinema. UNITED RED ARMY traces the failures and the regrets of Japan’s politically volatile 1970s in a way that only an ex-gangster, ex-porn filmmaker can.

Further Information: Directed by Koji Wakamatsu; 2007; 190 min.; DVD (In Japanese with English subtitles.) (Print and screening license permissions from Kino International.)

Flyer available here.

July 29th: KIKUJIRŌ (Kikujirō no Natsu) (Directed by Takeshi Kitano)
1991 / 121 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
Takeshi Kitano wrote, directed, and starred in this film about a young boy’s journey to find his mother while in the company of a group of mismatched characters.

August 5th: FIREWORKS (Hana-bi) (Directed by Takeshi Kitano)
1997/ 103 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.

August 12th: A SCENE AT THE SEA (Ano Natsu, Ichiban Shizukana Umi) (Directed by Takeshi Kitano)
1991 / 101 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.

August 19th: DEMON (Yasha) (Directed by Yasuo Furuhata)
1985 / 127 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.

Flyer available here.

July 16th: Hula Girls (Directed by Sang-il Lee)
2006 / 121 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
First released in Japan in 2006, Hula Girls is based on a true story about a group of girls who save their small village with hula dancing. The film was nominated for twelve awards at the 2007 Japan Academy Awards and received five, including best film.

July 23rd: Big Man Japan (Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto)
2007 / 113 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
Middle-aged and poverty-stricken, Masaru Daisato periodically transforms into a giant in order to defend Japan from invading monsters. This comedy is a clever spoof of super hero films.

July 30th: 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi)
2008 / 142 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
Based on a serial manga, this film features a group of young boys who wrote a book about fighting an evil organization. Thirty years later, their childhood prophecies come true.

August 6th: Maiko Haaaan!!! (Directed by Nobuo Mizuta)
2007 / 120 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
A slapstick comedy written by the screenwriter of PingPong, this film features an office worker who is pursuing a Maiko (apprentice Geisha) in Kyoto.

August 13th: Battle League Horumo (Directed by Katsuhide Motoki)
2009 / 113 min. / 35mm / In Japanese with English subtitles.
Based on a best-selling fantasy novel, this combat/action/ comedy film follows Akira Abe as he is accepted into Kyoto University and gets pulled into a club that battles an army of oni (spirits).