BENGALURU: Movie buffs in the city will get a chance to enjoy a different experience this month as Japan Film Festival is coming to Bengaluru for the first time.JFF is showcasing around 25 movies across seven cities – Delhi, Gurugram, Chennai, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata. The event is an initiative by Japan Foundation to promote different genres of Japanese movies. “Japanese movies are mostly known for their animation, horror and action themes. Through the film festival, we are trying to introduce other genres to the audience,” says Supriya Sahi, advisor, Consulate-General of Japan, Bengaluru. JIFF is showcasing movies ranging from anime, rom-com, drama, action, comedy etc.
On December 6, the festival will commence with an animation film, Your Name, which is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy drama film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It got rave reviews for its animation, complex narrative, musical score, etc and was named the fourth highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. JFF will also be showcasing other cult movies like One Cut of the Dead, a 2017 horror-comedy movie which revolves around how things go awry with the hack director and film crew while shooting a low-budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility. One of the highest grossers in Japan this year, Dance with Me, is also listed in the schedule. It is a musical film starring actress Ayaka Miyoshi, and directed and written by Shinobu Yaguchi.
This is the third leg of JFF which started from Delhi on September 27. After the Bengaluru showcase, it will travel to Mumbai and Kolkata. “Considering the huge fan base for Japanese movies, we are excited to host the film fest in Bengaluru for the first time,” says Sahi.Japan Film Festival is scheduled from Dec 6-15, PVR Forum Mall, Koramangala. Entry is free, with tickets available one hour prior to the movie screening.