'Better to watch on a big screen' - NY Japanese film festival returns in-person

Record ID: 1736286

  • Title: 'Better to watch on a big screen' - NY Japanese film festival returns in-person
  • Date: 2nd August 2023
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 31, 2023) (REUTERS) DIRECTOR KEISHI OTOMO TALKING TO FEE IN THEATER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) DIRECTOR KEISHI OTOMO SAYING: “You can watch oversea films by streaming but the conditions are limited. It is better to watch on a big screen attentively with many other people while holding your breath in the darkness. I am very conscious of making this kind of movie for people to watch on a big screen. In this film, people can appreciate things like Japan's National Treasures on every corner of a big screen. You can enjoy not only the drama of the characters but also the vividness of the costumes. Many things to please your eyes. We call it ‘Ganpuku’ in Japanese. To make your eyes happy. ( Gan is eye, puku is happiness.) This movie is rich in ‘Ganpuku’. Instead of watching it on a small screen, I want everyone to share the same experience while watching it on a big screen. For that reason, having a film festival like this is very important because it creates opportunities for people to see it on the big screen overseas. That’s what we want the most. I want Japan Society to continue this festival and I want to come back again.”
  • Embargoed: 16th August 2023 10:57
  • Keywords: film japan cuts japanese film festival movie
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA005129731072023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Japan Society in New York City is hosting its 16th annual film festival, Japan Cuts.
    They claim it is North America’s largest festival of Japanese films, and it shows most works released over the past 12 months. The nearly 30 films are a survey of blockbusters, arthouse films, independent cinema, experiential and classics.
    “We've kicked it off with some kind of really big titles, ‘The First Slam Dunk’, which was the kind of largest box office hit in Japan in the past year. We have period pieces which are kind of integral to Japanese cinema - been around and one of the kind of key genres in the industry since like the forties,” said programmer Alexander Fee.
    Most of the films on the lineup haven’t been shown or will probably never be shown in the U.S. with the exception of some of the classics.
    Director Keishi Otomo’s film “The Legend & Butterfly” is grateful the festival is giving audiences a chance to see his film in a theater.
    “You can watch oversea films by streaming but the conditions are limited. It is better to watch on a big screen attentively with many other people while holding your breath in the darkness. I am very conscious of making this kind of movie for people to watch on a big screen. In this film, people can appreciate things like Japan's National Treasures on every corner of a big screen." said Otomo.
    One of the goals of the festival is to give an expansive view of Japanese films and filmmakers. The festival paid tribute to late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto by screening the 1985 documentary “Tokyo Melody.”
    Director Elizabeth Lennard hadn’t screened the film in public since 1997.
    “It's incredible to show it almost 40 years after I made it….and to a, you know, to a live audience …. And the print itself, you know, 60 millimeter, it didn't break, which was my fear. So, and the audience seemed to really be into it. And it's sad that it's on the occasion of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s passing.”
    This is the first in-person festival since the COVID pandemic and is running from July 26 until August 6th.
    (Production: Andrew Hofstetter, Alicia Powell, Kyoko Gasha)
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