Japanese Film Festival celebrates 20th anniversary, 12th year in Kuching

KUCHING: The Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) organised a five-day filmmaking workshop for Malaysian and Japanese youth last August to celebrate the 20th Japanese Film Festival (JFF) 2024, marking its 12th edition in Kuching.

Led by Malaysian director Lim Kah Wai, the workshop covered all aspects of filmmaking, including ideation, production, and editing, with the completed short films being shown on JFKL’s YouTube page.

JFKL director Tsukamoto Norihisa said the workshop was part of the festival’s 20th anniversary and encouraged the public to watch the short films.

“We did a workshop for teenagers to create a short film with Malaysian filmmaker Lim Kah Wai who is now based in Japan, so please enjoy it on our JFKL’s YouTube page,” he said, explaining that the JFF is an annual initiative by JFKL aimed at introducing Japanese culture and cinema to Malaysian audiences.

“This festival is JFKL’s annual programme, screening several new Japanese films in five cities around Malaysia this year.

“So, our purpose is to introduce Japanese films to Malaysian people, to promote the Japanese culture in Malaysia,” he said  during an interview with Sarawak Tribune at the opening ceremony of the Japanese Film Festival 2024 at GSC CityONE Megamall yesterday (Oct 10).

Running from Oct 10 to 13, this year’s JFF showcases a diverse line-up of over 12 films, spanning genres like drama, sci-fi, romance, thriller, animation, and many more.

Since its inception, the JFF has welcomed over 200,000 people, screened 215 films, introduced 127 directors, and hosted 11 fringe events across five states in Malaysia.

Reflecting on his experience, Tsukamoto, who has been in Malaysia for 18 months, expressed his delight at seeing many returning viewers.

“I’ve been in Malaysia for one-and-a-half years, and I’m surprised and glad to see many repeaters coming to our festival, and I hope the new audiences will enjoy themselves too,” he said.

He also highlighted the rarity of Japanese films being screened in Malaysia, emphasising JFKL’s mission to bridge this gap.

“Actually, if we see the film scene in Malaysia, it’s rare to see Japanese films being screened commercially here.

“So, it is our motivation to promote Japanese culture in Malaysia and I hope this festival can run until its 50th or 100th edition,” he said.

Moreover, he expressed his hope for other Japanese organisations to contribute to Sarawak, acknowledging Mitsubishi Corporation’s ongoing support of the JFF and other local initiatives.

“Mitsubishi Corporation’s support extends beyond this festival to various local events. So, I hope other Japanese organisations will also commit to Sarawak,” he added.

JFKL has teamed up with What About Kuching (WAK) for a collaborative initiative aimed at promoting Japanese culture among local Sarawakians during the WAK 2024 festival.

JFKL presented a captivating performance featuring Japan’s exotica band ‘MuchaMuchaM’ and Malaysia’s own ‘Zee Avi’ at the What About Music: Home & Away event, part of WAK 2024 on Oct  6.

The band performed a range of unique instrumental pieces inspired by traditional Asian sounds, including ‘Pulau’ and ‘Tuan Puan’, and also collaborated with Zee Avi on songs such as ‘Day by Day’, ‘Kanashikute Yarikirenai’, and ‘Oyasumi na Sayang’.

This year’s festival opened with Godzilla Minus One (2023), which recently won the Best Visual Effects award at the 96th Academy Awards and was held at The Exchange (TRX).

Other featured films include the iconic 1988 classic ‘Akira will be featured, ‘A Samurai in Time,’ ‘All the Long Nights,’ ‘Let’s Go Karaoke!’, ‘Masked Hearts’, ‘Matched’, ‘Mom, Is That You?’, ‘One Second Ahead, One Second Behind’, ‘Our Secret Diary’, ‘Sand Land’, and ‘To Mom, With Love’.

A highlight of JFF each year is the popular stamp rally, where participants can collect stamps at various festival locations for a chance to win exclusive prizes.

“The stamp rally has since become one of the most popular activities of the JFF and this year, the prizes are bigger than ever.

For those who collect three stamps they’ll get festival goodies such as gifts from Vida, Kao, and exclusive JFF merchandise. For the most dedicated of moviegoers, collecting eight and above will give them a chance to win Kinokuniya vouchers, custom-made JFF Ana Tomy notebooks, and Canon products,” he said.

Asked about the must-watch movie of this year’s festival, Tsukamoto found it challenging to pick just one but ultimately recommended ‘To Mom, With Love’.

“It’s a very difficult question. The opening film, ‘Let’s Go Karaoke!’ is a very good movie, so is ‘Godzilla Minus One’ since it’s award-winning.

“But, I will recommend watching ‘To Mom, With Love’, it’s a very funny movie,” he encouraged.

Tickets for JFF 2024 are priced at RM10 (except ‘A Samurai in Time’ which will be sold at the prevailing ticket price) and are available through GSC’s official channels.

“Please come to the Japanese Film Festival in Kuching. We are waiting for you!” he said.

Interested attendees can visit JFF’s official website (https://jfklevents.com/japanese-film-festival-2024) for a complete listing of film synopsis, showtimes, and additional information.

JFF 2024.