JAPAN CUTS returns for 2024 once again presenting a selection of the best of recent Japanese cinema at Japan Society New York from July 10 to 21. This year's Cut Above award goes to the actor Mirai Moriyama while his Great Absence co-star Tatsuya Fuji will receive a lifetime achievement award.
Opening Night Film with Director Masanori Tominaga Q&A and Reception
Surreal adaptation of the memoirs of jazz musician Hiroshi Minami starring Sosuke Ikematsu and taking place over a single night of overlapping eras in '80s Ginza.
Followed by Mirai Moriyama CUT ABOVE Award presentation, Q&A with Shinya Tsukamoto and Mirai Moriyama, and Reception
The ruins of a firebombed city become a purgatorial space haunted by the tortured souls who cannot escape the traumatic wartime past in Shinya Tsukamoto's eerie voyage through post-war Japan. Review.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Great Absence
Followed by Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation for Tatsuya Fuji, Q&A with Kei Chika-ura and Tatsuya Fuji, and Reception
A forced reconnection with his estranged father forces a young man to contemplate the great absences of life in Kei Chikaura's poetic drama. Review.
Mismatched colleagues struggling amid contemporary corporate culture find unexpected solidarity in Sho Miyake's gentle human drama. Review.
Adaptation of the manga by Tsubasa Yamaguchi in which a lost young man discovers the power of art and embarks on a quest to enter one of Japan's most prestigious art schools.
Surreal adaptation of the Kobo Abe novel starring Masatoshi Nagase as a photographer living his life inside a box and Tadanobu Asano as a scientist who becomes obsessed with him.
Quirky comedy that turns unexpectedly dark as a free-spirited young woman develops a crush on a taciturn chef while simultaneously the subject of office gossip due to her ambiguous relationship with the boss.
Following the sound on her cassette recorder, a young woman interacts with two troubled souls in a gentle drama from Kyoshi Sugita.
Featuring Director Tetsuya Chihara In-Person.
Adaptation of a short story by Mieko Kawakami following four young women who come together at a local ice cream shop.
Takeshi Kitano directs and stars as Toyotomi Hideyoshi in an ironic retelling of the Honnoji Incident in which Oda Nobunaga (Ryo Kase) is betrayed by his retainers.
Musical drama from Shunji Iwai told over 10 years and starring AiNA THE END as a street musician who can only communicate through song.
Adaptation of an award-winning manga in which a manga artist looks back and recalls a childhood friendship asking themselves if they would still make the same choices despite knowing the outcome.
Black and white version of Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi's landmark take on the classic kaiju franchise.
Long-awaited feature from Milocrorze: A Love Story's Yoshimasa Ishibashi in which a Tokyo-based photographer is called back to his mountain home on the death of his estranged father.
An office worker joins a dating app after his fiancée abruptly breaks up with him but the date doesn't exactly to plan leaving to follow cryptic clues from an augmented reality influencer.
A young woman finds the strength to fight back against her mistreatment thanks to a sense of female solidarity in Urara Matsubayashi's timely drama. Review.
Dialogue-free indie drama set in a post-apocalyptic society in which one woman's days of self-sufficiency are disrupted by the arrival of a young vagabond.
Darkly comic drama in which a failed actor is summoned to play the part of the chief mourner at his former wife's funeral. Review.
Unhappy in the city, a young woman embarks on a love affair with a photographer from Hokkaido .
Looping summer holiday drama as a teenager working on a film with his crush gets the opportunity to "retake" some of his mistakes.
A collection of teens contemplate the ghosts of youth in facing graduation from a school soon to be demolished in Shun Nakagawa's poignant drama. Review.
Imported 35mm Print – Featuring Director Gakuryu Ishii In-Person.
Sogo Ishii's '90s masterpiece in which a female transfer student enters a higher plane of consciousness after undergoing a diving accident.
Elegiac horror from Toshiharu Ikeda in which an ama diver plots revenge when her husband is killed after witnessing a murder.
A young girl struggles to come to terms with her parents' impending divorce in Shinji Somai's ethereal coming-of-age drama.
Documentary focussing on the renowned author best known for Kiki's Delivery Service.
Featuring Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki In-Person
Documentary focussing on Japan's elementary school system and shot over the course of a single year.
Documentary focussing on the erotic artwork of the Edo era.
JAPAN CUTS 2024 runs at Japan Society New York July 10 to 21. Tickets are on sale now. Full details for all the films are available via the official website and you can also keep up with all the latest details by following the festival's official Letterboxd, Instagram, Facebook page and X (formerly) account.
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