After much thought, and taking into consideration the health of our guests and viewers, Nihon Media announced that Japan Filmfest Hamburg cannot take place this year as a traditional film festival – and will be online instead. Under the motto ‘Breaking Free – From Japan with Love’, Nihon Media will collaborate with Videocity to stream its entire programme of 70+ films in around 40 blocks globally from 19th of August to the 2nd of September.
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (Inception, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Last Samurai) is set to take the lead in upcoming drama Cottontail, with rising British star Jessie Buckley (Judy, Wild Rose) joining in a supporting role.
The drama, which is being introduced to buyers at the American Film Market by WestEnd Films, comes from Oscar-nominated Philomena producer Gabrielle Tana and writer/director Patrick Dickinson, who won the BAFTA/La Student Film Award for his short Usagi-San.
Watanabe’s son Dai Watanabe (Recall, Samurai’s Promise) also stars in the film.
Described by the filmmakers as a "universal portrait of love, acceptance and family loss," ...
The drama, which is being introduced to buyers at the American Film Market by WestEnd Films, comes from Oscar-nominated Philomena producer Gabrielle Tana and writer/director Patrick Dickinson, who won the BAFTA/La Student Film Award for his short Usagi-San.
Watanabe’s son Dai Watanabe (Recall, Samurai’s Promise) also stars in the film.
Described by the filmmakers as a "universal portrait of love, acceptance and family loss," ...
- 11/6/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (Inception, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Last Samurai) is set to take the lead in upcoming drama Cottontail, with rising British star Jessie Buckley (Judy, Wild Rose) joining in a supporting role.
The drama, which is being introduced to buyers at the American Film Market by WestEnd Films, comes from Oscar-nominated Philomena producer Gabrielle Tana and writer/director Patrick Dickinson, who won the BAFTA/La Student Film Award for his short Usagi-San.
Watanabe’s son Dai Watanabe (Recall, Samurai’s Promise) also stars in the film.
Described by the filmmakers as a "universal portrait of love, acceptance and family loss," ...
The drama, which is being introduced to buyers at the American Film Market by WestEnd Films, comes from Oscar-nominated Philomena producer Gabrielle Tana and writer/director Patrick Dickinson, who won the BAFTA/La Student Film Award for his short Usagi-San.
Watanabe’s son Dai Watanabe (Recall, Samurai’s Promise) also stars in the film.
Described by the filmmakers as a "universal portrait of love, acceptance and family loss," ...
- 11/6/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The Japanese sales company has three titles at the market.
Japan’s CREi Inc is launching sales at Filmart on period environmental film A Town And A Tall Chimney, directed by Katsuya Matsumura.
Starring Asato Ide, Dai Watanabe, Koji Kikkawa and Tatsuya Nakadai, the film is set in 1905 when young men at the Hitachi Mine risked their lives to fight the corporation whose air pollution was killing villagers’ trees and crops. The film is set for local release in June 2019.
CREi is also selling Iron Girl Final Wars, the final instalment in the action film series with Iron Girl and Iron Girl Ultimate Weapon,...
Japan’s CREi Inc is launching sales at Filmart on period environmental film A Town And A Tall Chimney, directed by Katsuya Matsumura.
Starring Asato Ide, Dai Watanabe, Koji Kikkawa and Tatsuya Nakadai, the film is set in 1905 when young men at the Hitachi Mine risked their lives to fight the corporation whose air pollution was killing villagers’ trees and crops. The film is set for local release in June 2019.
CREi is also selling Iron Girl Final Wars, the final instalment in the action film series with Iron Girl and Iron Girl Ultimate Weapon,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Director: Tae-gyun Kim.
Writers: Kôji Matsumoto (manga), and Tetsuya Oishi (screenplay).
Cast: Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa and Kôji Yamamoto.
Despite the misleading title and the film’s comic book origins, the only real problem with Higanjima, Escape from Vampire Island is that Japanese folklore does not have any real vampires to really call their own. There are vampire-like creatures, like the Kappa, said to lure its victims to a watery grave to feast upon their blood; but, it is a creature that's also revered than always feared. There is also an Ikiryoh, a spirit that can drain its victim of its energy. That said, the real life folklore do not deter from the enjoyment of this film. Vampires can freely move about the world and amalgamate into any culture where it is given a new name by the village it is raiding.
In this film, that is almost exactly what happened.
Writers: Kôji Matsumoto (manga), and Tetsuya Oishi (screenplay).
Cast: Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa and Kôji Yamamoto.
Despite the misleading title and the film’s comic book origins, the only real problem with Higanjima, Escape from Vampire Island is that Japanese folklore does not have any real vampires to really call their own. There are vampire-like creatures, like the Kappa, said to lure its victims to a watery grave to feast upon their blood; but, it is a creature that's also revered than always feared. There is also an Ikiryoh, a spirit that can drain its victim of its energy. That said, the real life folklore do not deter from the enjoyment of this film. Vampires can freely move about the world and amalgamate into any culture where it is given a new name by the village it is raiding.
In this film, that is almost exactly what happened.
- 11/5/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Ed Sum)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Higanjima – Escape From Vampire Island
Stars: Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa, Kôji Yamamoto, Hideo Ishiguro, Miori Takimoto, Tomohisa Yuge | Written by Tetsuya Ôishi | Directed by Kim Tae-gyun
Two years after his brother goes missing, Akira meets a beautiful young woman, Rei, who claims he is still alive and can be found on the remote, uncharted Japanese island of Higanjima. Desperate to see his brother Atsushi again and to solve the mystery of his disappearance, Akira talks several of his friends into joining him on a trip to the island in search of Atsushi.
Arriving in Higanjima, Akira and his friends learn that they have been lured there by Rei to be food for the island’s inhabitants – a race of extremely bloodthirsty vampires! Captured by Higanjima’s bloodsucking inhabitants, Akira and his friends eventually escape, crossing paths with Atsushi, who proclaims he has devoted himself to slaying all the vampires on Higanjima.
Stars: Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa, Kôji Yamamoto, Hideo Ishiguro, Miori Takimoto, Tomohisa Yuge | Written by Tetsuya Ôishi | Directed by Kim Tae-gyun
Two years after his brother goes missing, Akira meets a beautiful young woman, Rei, who claims he is still alive and can be found on the remote, uncharted Japanese island of Higanjima. Desperate to see his brother Atsushi again and to solve the mystery of his disappearance, Akira talks several of his friends into joining him on a trip to the island in search of Atsushi.
Arriving in Higanjima, Akira and his friends learn that they have been lured there by Rei to be food for the island’s inhabitants – a race of extremely bloodthirsty vampires! Captured by Higanjima’s bloodsucking inhabitants, Akira and his friends eventually escape, crossing paths with Atsushi, who proclaims he has devoted himself to slaying all the vampires on Higanjima.
- 9/19/2010
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Director: Tae-gyun Kim. Review: Adam Wing. Having looked forward to and loathed Tae-gyun Kim’s effects laden martial arts oddity Volcano High, it’s fair to say that my expectations for his take on the vampire horror genre weren’t high. Higanjima - a live-action Japanese movie based on the best-selling Manga series by Koji Matsumoto - is coming to UK DVD and Blu-ray in October courtesy of Manga Entertainment. Billed as a horror movie, it’s probably best if you lower your expectations and take a different approach to viewing the film. I really want to call it horror comedy but it takes itself a little too seriously for that, in fact - to define a movie like this can prove a little troublesome. Pop-rock horror anyone? I think I just made up my own movie genre but still… Two years after his older brother, Atsushi (Dai Watanabe), goes missing under mysterious circumstances,...
- 9/15/2010
- 24framespersecond.net
The UK's most amazing horror film festival Film4 FrightFest has released what could very well be another one of the best horror line-ups we've seen ever for its latest show taking place from Thursday the 26th of August to Monday the 30th of August, brimming with films we've been salivating over Stateside!
From the Press Release
This year there are eight British films in the main programme (another record) including Monsters, Gareth Edwards’ sensational post-Apocalyptic debut, The Ford Brothers’ Cannes-hyped African Zombie flick The Dead and Johannes Roberts F – in which a school gets a lesson in horror! Other home-grown titles are Dead Cert (East-End gangsters meet Eastern European vampires), Isle Of Dogs (nasty gangland horror), Paul Andrew Williams’ harrowing Cherry Tree Lane and werewolf thriller 13Hrs. Plus, Jake West will be presenting his in-depth documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship And Videotape, which will be followed by a Q & A panel discussion.
From the Press Release
This year there are eight British films in the main programme (another record) including Monsters, Gareth Edwards’ sensational post-Apocalyptic debut, The Ford Brothers’ Cannes-hyped African Zombie flick The Dead and Johannes Roberts F – in which a school gets a lesson in horror! Other home-grown titles are Dead Cert (East-End gangsters meet Eastern European vampires), Isle Of Dogs (nasty gangland horror), Paul Andrew Williams’ harrowing Cherry Tree Lane and werewolf thriller 13Hrs. Plus, Jake West will be presenting his in-depth documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship And Videotape, which will be followed by a Q & A panel discussion.
- 7/2/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
The complete lineup for the 2010 edition of the Film4 Frightfest has just been announced and, as usual, it is a quality selection of the best in horror film from the UK and around the world. The program splits into two programs - the main lineup and sidebar Discovery program - and you'll find both below!
Programme = Screen 1
Thursday Aug 26
6.30pm Hatchet II (World Premiere)
FrightFest continues its strong relationship with Adam Green by hosting the world premiere of the sequel to his 2006 slasher sensation. Picking up right where the splatter-tastic original ended, Marybeth escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling iconic killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family's connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher. Delivering unapologetically unrestrained gushers of gore,...
Programme = Screen 1
Thursday Aug 26
6.30pm Hatchet II (World Premiere)
FrightFest continues its strong relationship with Adam Green by hosting the world premiere of the sequel to his 2006 slasher sensation. Picking up right where the splatter-tastic original ended, Marybeth escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling iconic killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family's connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher. Delivering unapologetically unrestrained gushers of gore,...
- 7/2/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The official website for Shunya Ito‘s Lost Crime: Senkou has been updated with a longer trailer. Best known for directing the first three “Female Prisoner: Scorpion” films for Toei in the early 70s, Ito (73) has only directed two films in the past 11 years. His most recent film until now was the 2006 documentary “Eiga Kantoku tte Nanda!” (What is a Director?), which focused on an apparent flaw in Japanese copyright law which keeps film directors from retaining ownership of their work in the same way producers do.
The screenplay for Lost Crime was co-written by Ito and novelist/TV writer Shukei Nagasaka. Dai Watanabe (son of Ken Watanabe) stars as a young police detective partnered with a veteran cop Eiji Okuda. While attempting to solve a murder case, the pair eventually get close to tracking down a criminal involved in the real-life 300 million yen robbery, the largest heist in Japanese...
The screenplay for Lost Crime was co-written by Ito and novelist/TV writer Shukei Nagasaka. Dai Watanabe (son of Ken Watanabe) stars as a young police detective partnered with a veteran cop Eiji Okuda. While attempting to solve a murder case, the pair eventually get close to tracking down a criminal involved in the real-life 300 million yen robbery, the largest heist in Japanese...
- 5/2/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Year: 2009
Directors: Tae-gyun Kim
Writers: Kôji Matsumoto / Tetsuya Ôishi
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: rochefort
Rating: 4 out of 10
On the island of Higanjima, populated almost entirely by vampires, hero Atsushi (Dai Watanabe) wages a daily war with the bloodsuckers, dispatching each with a gruesome bamboo battering ram. Back on the Japanese mainland, his brother Akira (Hideo Ishiguro) and his friends learn that his missing brother may yet still be alive, so they head to the island to bring him back, and are soon locked in sword-to-fang combat with the living dead.
Okay, so when I hear there's yet another vampire film out there, regardless of the fact that it's a Korean/Japanese co-production, it's still a bit difficult to get excited, even if the film in question features katana-weilding vampire slayers. Harkening back to the days of rampant genre-busting Honk Kong action movies, "Higanjima", adapted from the manga, is...
Directors: Tae-gyun Kim
Writers: Kôji Matsumoto / Tetsuya Ôishi
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: rochefort
Rating: 4 out of 10
On the island of Higanjima, populated almost entirely by vampires, hero Atsushi (Dai Watanabe) wages a daily war with the bloodsuckers, dispatching each with a gruesome bamboo battering ram. Back on the Japanese mainland, his brother Akira (Hideo Ishiguro) and his friends learn that his missing brother may yet still be alive, so they head to the island to bring him back, and are soon locked in sword-to-fang combat with the living dead.
Okay, so when I hear there's yet another vampire film out there, regardless of the fact that it's a Korean/Japanese co-production, it's still a bit difficult to get excited, even if the film in question features katana-weilding vampire slayers. Harkening back to the days of rampant genre-busting Honk Kong action movies, "Higanjima", adapted from the manga, is...
- 3/31/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The 2010 SXSW Film Festival will take place March 12-20 in Austin, Texas. Higanjima (Japan/Korea) Director: Tae-Kyun Kim. Screenwriter: Tetsuya Ôishi Two years after losing contact, Akira discovers that his long-lost brother may be found on Higanjima Island. He may also find on Higanjima an army of blood-sucking vampires. Cast: Koji Yamamoto, Hideo Ishiguro, Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa (North American Premiere) Monsters (UK) Director and Screenwriter: Gareth Edwards Six years after a Nasa probe crashes, bringing alien life forms to Earth, a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the Us border. Cast: Scoot McNairym, Whitney [...]...
- 2/5/2010
- by Arthur Leander
- Alt Film Guide
SXFantastic! SXSW 2010 presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight!
Austin, Texas - February 4, 2010 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas.
Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010.
For the second year in a row, Fantastic Fest has selected a slate of midnight features as part of the official SXSW Lineup. You can see these films and more with a SXSW film badge. SXSW film badges are on sale at www.sxsw.com/attend.
Mind-bending international Midnighters, hand-selected by Fantastic Fest.
Films screening in Sx Fantastic are:
Higanjima (Japan/Korea)
(International Festival Premiere)
Director: Tae-Kyun Kim.
Screenwriter: Tetsuya Ôishi
Two years after losing contact, Akira discovers that his long-lost brother may be found on
Higanjima Island. He may also find an army of blood-sucking vampires.
Austin, Texas - February 4, 2010 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas.
Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010.
For the second year in a row, Fantastic Fest has selected a slate of midnight features as part of the official SXSW Lineup. You can see these films and more with a SXSW film badge. SXSW film badges are on sale at www.sxsw.com/attend.
Mind-bending international Midnighters, hand-selected by Fantastic Fest.
Films screening in Sx Fantastic are:
Higanjima (Japan/Korea)
(International Festival Premiere)
Director: Tae-Kyun Kim.
Screenwriter: Tetsuya Ôishi
Two years after losing contact, Akira discovers that his long-lost brother may be found on
Higanjima Island. He may also find an army of blood-sucking vampires.
- 2/4/2010
- by zack
- OriginalAlamo.com
Less than a week worth of recovering from the Sundance Film Festival, and we are already looking forward to our next, big film fest coverage. That would be the South by Southwest Film Festival held annually in Austin, Texas. Last year, Scott and I brought you all kinds of coverage from the Lone Star State, and this year doesn’t look to be much different.
With that, the announcement came last night of the feature films that will be playing at the SXSW Film Festival. Previous announcement were already made about films like Cold Weather, Electra Luxx, Hubble 3D, Lemmy, Saturday Night, and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights making their debut. Kick-ass was recently announced as the opening night film, as well.
Among the other films being presented this year are some Sundance darlings, a few, highly anticipated premieres, and MacGruber.
Check out the full list...
With that, the announcement came last night of the feature films that will be playing at the SXSW Film Festival. Previous announcement were already made about films like Cold Weather, Electra Luxx, Hubble 3D, Lemmy, Saturday Night, and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights making their debut. Kick-ass was recently announced as the opening night film, as well.
Among the other films being presented this year are some Sundance darlings, a few, highly anticipated premieres, and MacGruber.
Check out the full list...
- 2/4/2010
- by Kirk
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I was so excited at seeing the SXSW line up last night that I completely forgot to post it and started searching the interwebs for cool content to go with it. Oops. Yes, I wish I was there but alas, it wasn’t mean to be (though don’t despair. We’ll be bringing you wicked awesome coverage).
But enough rambling, you want to know what’s all playing. Well, for a start there’s the much anticipated McGruber (trailer), the Duplass’ semi-mainstream comedy Cyrus, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs (trailer, review), Daniel Stamm’s horror flick Cotton and that’s on top of the previously announced titles which include Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino as a pregnant porn star? Bring. It. On.) and Kick-Ass (trailer). That’s already a great line-up but dear me, some of the other titles are pretty awesome too.
There’s Clay Liford scifi drama Earthling (trailer...
But enough rambling, you want to know what’s all playing. Well, for a start there’s the much anticipated McGruber (trailer), the Duplass’ semi-mainstream comedy Cyrus, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs (trailer, review), Daniel Stamm’s horror flick Cotton and that’s on top of the previously announced titles which include Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino as a pregnant porn star? Bring. It. On.) and Kick-Ass (trailer). That’s already a great line-up but dear me, some of the other titles are pretty awesome too.
There’s Clay Liford scifi drama Earthling (trailer...
- 2/4/2010
- QuietEarth.us
Late yesterday the SXSW Fim Festival, which runs from March 12-20 in Austin, TX, announced the full lineup of films that will be screening at this year’s event. And baby, it’s quite a list. Mixing big name films with intimate indie gems, the sheer number of films and the vast array of talented filmmakers is sure to be a hit with attendees and critics alike.
This lineup includes premieres of studio films such as Universal’s MacGruber, Lionsgate’s teen superhero actioneer Kick-Ass and smaller films like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart and Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine. With so many films to watch, it will be very difficult to find time to seem them all during the events nine days. But hell, we’re going to try.
For more on...
This lineup includes premieres of studio films such as Universal’s MacGruber, Lionsgate’s teen superhero actioneer Kick-Ass and smaller films like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart and Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine. With so many films to watch, it will be very difficult to find time to seem them all during the events nine days. But hell, we’re going to try.
For more on...
- 2/4/2010
- by Chris Ullrich
- The Flickcast
Next month the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival will be in full swing down in awesome Austin, Texas, and we've got a look at what horror flicks will be sending super-sized chills down the spines of festival goers.
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12–20, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010. These films were selected from a record 1,572 film submissions composed of 1,206 U.S. and 366 international feature-length films.
Midnighters series: Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.
Amer (Belgium)
"Ana is confronted to Body and Desire at three key moments of her life."
Directors: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Screenwriter: Bruno Forzani
Cast: Bianca Maria D’Amato,...
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12–20, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010. These films were selected from a record 1,572 film submissions composed of 1,206 U.S. and 366 international feature-length films.
Midnighters series: Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.
Amer (Belgium)
"Ana is confronted to Body and Desire at three key moments of her life."
Directors: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Screenwriter: Bruno Forzani
Cast: Bianca Maria D’Amato,...
- 2/4/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
The 2010 SXSW Film Festival and Conference has announced its initial slate of titles. The list is rife with hot world premieres (Kick-Ass), films fresh from Sundance (The Runaways, Cyrus), hot titles from the 2009 editions of Tiff and Cannes that haven't had much U.S. play (Enter the Void, Dogtooth, Trash Humpers), interesting documentaries (Lemmy, The People v. George Lucas) and much, much more. Simon Rumley's Red, White & Blue, which has received much praise on Twitch based on its Iffr screenings, will have its North American premiere.
Midnight programming courtesy of Fantastic Fest is also back with titles like Higanjima, Monsters, Serbian Film, Outcast, and a yet to be announced special film. Keep eye out for SXSW coverage at Twitch, but for now, pursue the massive list below (descriptions courtesy of SXSW).
Headliners
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film...
Midnight programming courtesy of Fantastic Fest is also back with titles like Higanjima, Monsters, Serbian Film, Outcast, and a yet to be announced special film. Keep eye out for SXSW coverage at Twitch, but for now, pursue the massive list below (descriptions courtesy of SXSW).
Headliners
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film...
- 2/4/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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