MALAYSIAN moviegoers have long been big fans of Japanese movies.
The Japan Film Festival 2024's organiser, the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur's director Tsukamoto Norihisa said that this year's Japanese film festival brings the country's most iconic monster Godzilla to the silver screen in Malaysia and has more animated movies than before.
"We hope to increase science fiction and animation genres in future editions of the festival to cater to Malaysian viewers' preferences," he said at the recent premiere of the festival's headliner 'Godzilla Minus One' at The Aurum Cinema, TRX Exhange in Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur recently.
Tsukamoto said that 'Godzilla Minus One' (2023), the winner of the Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards was a first for the festival.
Directed by Yamazaki Takashi, it offers a fresh take on the Godzilla franchise and marked the film's debut in Malaysian cinemas.
"This year's festival is a first with a Godzilla movie and a first with a workshop," said Tsukamoto.
The foundation organised a five-day filmmaking workshop for Malaysian and Japanese youths.
Led by director Lim Kah Wai, it covered ideation, production, and editing.
COLLABORATIONS
Tsukamoto hoped that the annual festival would help spearhead more movie collaborations between both countries and also have Japanese and Malaysian film companies film in each others' countries. "Japanese filmmakers have long shot films or partial film scenes in Malaysia over the decades and vice versa," he said.
A notable Japanese film shot in Malaysia was 'Three-Fold Mirror' in 2016.
"Here's hoping that feature films which are joint ventures of both countries — be they animated or live action — make it to film festivals around the world someday."
Tsukamoto added that Malaysian animation had grown tremendously and in no small part Japanese animation has been an inspiration to both Malaysian and American animation especially in science fiction.
"I have seen Malaysian animation grow over the years, and today Malaysia produces some world-class animated series which are original but nevertheless have the influence of Japanese animation technology," he said.
When asked about the festival's films, Tsukamoto said that almost all of them were making their debut in Malaysia.
"The festival's films have not been screened in cinemas before, however some were in the annual Malaysian International Film Festival or MIFFest earlier this year."
DIVERSE
This year's Japanese Film Festival marks two decades of Japanese films in Malaysia.
Running from Sept 12 to Oct 20 at selected GSC Cinemas around the country, the festival showcases a diverse lineup of 13 films, comprising dramas, animation, romance, thriller, and science-fiction fare.
Tsukamoto said that over the years, JFF has attracted over 200,000 movie-goers, presented 215 films, showcased the works of 127 filmmakers, and hosted 11 fringe events in 11 venues across five states.
For anime fans, there is the 1988 movie 'Akira' by Otomo Katsuhiro and 'Sand Land' (2023) by the late Toriyama Akira of Dragon Ball fame.
There is also the family-oriented film 'To Mom With Love' about the relationship of three adult daughters and their mother, 'Masked Hearts' about a filmmaker and her dysfunctional family and 'Mom, Is That You?' a comedy about a son who visits his mother and learns that she has a completely different personality.
The festival also features 'Matched' (2024), 'All The Long Nights' (2024) by Miyake Sho, and 'A Samurai In Time' (2024) which was released in Japan on Aug 17.
'One Second Ahead, One Second Behind' is about a girl who is always a little late and chooses to date a boy who is always a little early, while 'All The Long Nights' is about a girl who suffers from pre-menstrual syndrome and her colleague who is prone to panic attacks.
'Our Secret Diary' tells the story of what happens when a love note from the school's most handsome boy ends up with the wrong girl, and 'A Samurai In Time' is about a warrior who finds himself transported to the present day and becomes a successful action hero.
KLANG VALLEY
The festival was launched by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, and attended by Tsukamoto, Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Takahashi Katsuhiko and Golden Screen Cinemas chief executive officer Koh Mei Lee.
The films are being screened in the Klang Valley till Sept 18 at GSC Mid Valley in Kuala Lumpur, GSC 1 Utama in Petaling Jaya, and Aurum at The Exchange TRX in Kuala Lumpur.
They will also be screened at GSC Gurney Plaza in George Town, Penang from Oct 19 to 22, GSC Paradigm Mall in Johor Baru, Johor from Sept 26 to 29, GSC CityOne Megamall in Kuching, Sarawak from Oct 10 to 13, and GSC Suria Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah from Oct 17 to 20.
For a complete listing of film synopsis, showtimes, and additional information, visit JFKL's social media platforms and www.gsc.com.my.