Japanese Film Festival Opens at Toronto’s Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre

Canada’s Largest Showcase Of Contemporary Japanese Films Opens With International Premiere Of Izuri Narushima’s Widely Anticipated FATHER OF THE MILKY WAY RAILROAD

Starring 2023 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Koji Yakusho

The enchanting world of Japanese storytelling is front and centre at the 12th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival (TJFF) taking place next month at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. The extraordinary line up of films premiering at this year’s festival celebrate the richness of contemporary Japanese cinema, offering a unique perspective that will leave audiences captivated.

“We try to show not only artistic films at TJFF but also those of adventure and comedy, which represent Japan as it is today. We want everyone in Toronto to know the side of Japan that’s not just tradition and culture, but also showcases the immense creativity that has earned the country a reputation as one of the entertainment world’s superpowers”.

Festival Director and Co-Programmer James Heron

One of the most important destinations for Japanese film in the world, TJFF has grown into one of the largest film events of its kind. The festival is recognized as a vital conduit for bringing Japanese film to international audiences, hosting a rich program that reflects the complexity of the world’s fourth largest film industry.

The festival closes with the North American premiere of Tetsu Maeda’s screwball samurai comedy WE’RE BROKE, MY LORD!, a Cinderella story of a commoner becoming a lord overnight. Based on best-selling author Jiro Asada’s seminal historical fiction novel, the film is directed by Tetsu Maeda’s best known for his work on Buta ga ita kyôshitsu (2008), And So the Baton Is Passed (2021) and Sukiyaki (2011). The TJFF screening of WE’RE BROKE, MY LORD precedes its debut in Japan. The festival’s finale will begin with a drum performance by the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s Kyowa Taiko Group.

Toronto Japanese Film Festival includes visiting filmmakers, musical performances, art exhibitions and lots of great Japanese food. For more information and ticket information, please visit: Toronto Japanese Film Festival – https://jccc.on.ca/films/tjff

Highlights of the TJFF lineup of 22 feature films include
(all films in Japanese with English Subtitles)
FATHER OF THE MILKY WAY RAILROAD
TJFF Opening Night Reception – International Premiere

A heartwarming story between a father and a son in the late Meiji era. The film movingly depicts the ultimate love between father and son and the life of a literary genius through the eyes of his father—the result is a powerful biopic based on Kenji Miyazawa’s Naoki Prize-winning novel.

Director: Izuru Narushima
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Masaki Suda, Nana Mori
Screening: Thursday, June 8, 2023 @ 7:30pm

WE’RE BROKE, MY LORD!
TJFF Closing Night – North American Premiere, precedes Japanese debut

Based on Jiro Asada’s seminal historical fiction novel Daimyo Tousan, this samurai comedy-drama follows a peaceful young man and his salmon-dealing father. A light-hearted, fast-paced slice of screw-ball samurai entertainment with sumptuous costuming and an all-star cast.
A performance by JCCC Kyowa Taiko Drumming Troup begins the evening.

Director: Tetsu Maeda
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hana Sugisaki, Kenichi Matsuyama
Screening: Thursday, June 22, 2023 @ 7:00pm

North American Premiere

AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LIVE
Love is unpredictable. Follow the trials and tribulations of a young woman searching for love in her marriage with a seemingly cold-hearted military commander in a highly stylized 19th Century restoration era.

Director: Ayuko Tsukahara
Starring: Ren Meguro, Mio Imada
Screening: Saturday, June 10, 2023 @ 1:00pm

SILENT PARADE
Yukawa is a brilliant physicist who helps the police crack unsolved cold cases using his scientific theories and unique methods of deduction. A box-office smash based on Keigo Higashino’s popular series of novels featuring a stellar cast.

Director: Hiroshi Nishitani
Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Ko Shibasaki, Kazuki Kitamura
Screening: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 @ 7:00pm

THE LINES THAT DEFINE ME
North American premiere of director Norihiro Koizumi’s sumi-e film. A fast-paced, and engaging love letter to the art of sumi-e, based on the novel “Sen wa, Boku o Egaku” by Hiromasa Togami.

Director: Norihiro Koizumi
Starring: Ryusei Yokohama, Kaya Kiyohara, Tomokazu Miura, Yosuke Eguch
Screening: Sunday, June 11, 2023 @ 4:00pm

THE THREE SISTERS OF TENMASOU INN
Ryohei Kitamura’s huge swooning fantasy on the nature of love and loss based on popular manga by Tsutomu Takahashi and featuring a stellar cast.

Director: Ryohei Kitamura
Starring: Non, Mugi Kadowaki, Yuko Oshima, Shinobu Terajima, Kengo Kora, Hirayuki Masatoshi Nagase, Ko Shibasaki
Screening: Saturday, June 17, 2023 @ 1:00pm

Canadian Premiere

A MAN
Adapted from Keiichiro Hirano’s novel, this searing investigation into the themes of identity and the nature of happiness won the Japanese Academy Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Actress.

Director: Kei Ishikawa
Starring: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Sakura Ando, Masataka Kubota, Nana Seino
Screening: Thursday, June 15, 2023 @ 7:00pm

BL METAMORPHOSIS
This heartwarming film adaptation of Tsurutani Kaori’s popular manga warmly depicts the friendship between two women fifty-eight years apart in age. A charming and lighthearted tale of a unique female friendship.

Director: Shunsuke Kariyama
Starring: Mana Ashida, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kyohei Takahashi, Kotone Furukawa
Screening: Sunday, June 11, 2023 @ 7:00pm

FRAGMENTS OF THE LAST WILL
A heart-warming testament to the strength of the human spirit and the love between a husband and wife. Based on a true story. Bring your handkerchiefs.

Director: Takahisa Zeze
Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Keiko Kitagawa, Tori Matsuzaka, Kento Nakajima, Akira Terao,
Kenta Kiritani, Ken Yasuda
Screening: Saturday, June 10, 2023 @ 7:00pm

LESSON IN MURDER
A seductive thriller about a diabolical serial killer on death row who contacts a young law student for help. Filled with shocking twists, unbearable tension, and an unforgettably chilling lead performance.

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi
Starring: Sadao Abe, Kenshi Okada, Takanori Iwata, Miho Nakayama
Screening: Sunday, June 18, 2023 @ 7:00pm

LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR
The latest from anime director Keiichi Hara (Colorful, Miss Hokusai). Kokoro is a junior high school girl who is ostracized at school and holes up in her room. A touching, compelling story adapted from Tsujimura Mizuki’s bestselling Young Adult novel.
Director: Keiichi Hara
Starring: Voiced by Ami Touma, Takumi
Screening: Sunday, June 11, 2023 @ 1:00pm

OFFBEAT COPS
Naruse, a workaholic detective working on homicide cases, is strict with his subordinates and violent in his detection. This heartwarming comedic caper and a chronicle of failure and second chances centers on a charismatic performance from Hiroshi Abe.

Director: Eiji Uchida
Starring: Hiroshi Abe, Nana Seino, Hayato Isomura, Mitsuko Baisho
Screening: Monday, June 12, 2023 @ 7:00pm

ROLELESS
Miyamatsu divides his modest life between jobs as a cable car operator and an extra in Japanese gangster and samurai films. Through a chance meeting, he is confronted with a different life – his own. This is a quiet, consistently surprising and artful film with a superb central performance from Kagawa.

Director: Masahiko Sato, Yutaro Seki, Kentaro Hirase
Starring: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kanji Tsuda, Noriko Nakagoshi
Screening: Saturday, June 17, 2023 @ 4:00pm

THE ZEN DIARY
Adapted from Tsutomu Mizukami’s book, this gentle, thoughtful drama considers the importance of aligning one’s life with the natural world’s flavors and rhythms.
Director: Yuji Nakae.

Starring: Kenji Sawada, Takako Matsu
Screening: Saturday, June 17, 2023 @ 7:00pm

WANDERING
In a world of complexity, who is ever truly the victim? Step into a world of intrigue and forbidden love and uncover the truth of the characters’ unconventional relationship. Based on Yu Nagira’s best-selling novel, and nominated for six Japanese Academy Awards, including for Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

Director: Sang-il Lee
Starring: Tori Matsuzaka, Suzu Hirose, Ryusei Yokohama, Mikako Tabe
Screening: Friday, June 9, 2023 @ 7:00pm

WE MAKE ANTIQUES! OSAKA DREAMS
Japan’s favourite fine-arts conmen – antique dealer Norio and potter Sasuke – are back so get ready to laugh! Nakai and Sasaki bring their great comic timing to another great yarn about the Japanese art world.

Director: Masaharu Take
Starring: Kiichi Nakai, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Shota Yasuda, Yuri Nakamura
Screening: Sunday, June 18, 2023 @ 4:00pm

YUDO [THE WAY OF THE BATH]
In this light-hearted celebration of Japanese bathing culture, two estranged brothers inherit Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse. Funny, heartfelt and occasionally surreal, it proves we are all equal in the bath!
Director: Masayuki Suzuki
Starring: Toma Ikuta, Gaku Hamada, Kanna Hashimoto, Fumiyo Kohinata, Akira Emoto
Screening: Friday, June 16, 2023 @ 7:00pm
Toronto Premiere

SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY
Keiko, a hearing-impaired young woman, has big dreams of becoming a professional boxer. Inspired by Keiko Ogasawara’s autobiography and Winner of the Kinema Junpo Awards for Best Film and Best Female Performance.

Director: Sho Miyake
Starring: Yukino Kishii, Tomokazu Miura, Masaki Miura, Shinichiro Matsuura
Screening: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 @ 7:00pm

THE FISH TALE
Loosely based on the life of celebrity marine biologist Sakana-kun, this gentle fish-a-holic comedy-drama is “an instant cult favorite. It’s sure to charm the pants off just about everybody who encounters it” – thereelbits.com. Non was nominated for the Japanese Academy Award for her role.

Writer/Director Shuichi Okita will be joining us for the screening of his utterly charming THE FISH TALE
Director: Shuichi Okita
Starring: Non, Yuya Yagira, Kaho, Hayato Isomura, Amane Okayama
Screening: Monday, June 19, 2023 @ 7:00pm

ANIME SUPREMACY
This heartfelt and hilarious comedy-drama about pursuing your dream without compromise provides great insights into how things actually get done in the competitive world of anime.

Director: Kohei Yoshino
Starring: Riho Yoshioka, Tomoya Nakamura, Tasuku Emoto, Machiko Ono
Screening: Saturday, June 10, 2023 @ 4:00pm

TIFF Encore Presentation

PLAN 75
Followed by Q&A with Dr. Samir Sinha

With nearly one-third of Japan’s population over the age of 65 and the lowest birth rates in the world, the country faces a historic economic and healthcare crisis. This thoughtful, beautifully acted inquiry into how we value our seniors won Caméra d’Or Special Mention Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director: Chie Hayakawa
Starring: Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne, Yuumi Kawai, Taka Takao
Screening: Tuesday, June 20, 2023 @ 7:00pm
The screening will be followed by Q&A with Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and the Director of Health Policy Research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s National Institute on Ageing.

Special Presentation

RAMAYANA: THE LEGEND OF PRINCE RAMA
This legendary Japan-India co-production tells the epic tale of the Hindu god Rama and his quest to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. With stunning visuals and a captivating story that has been cherished for generations, this new 4K Digital re-master of the timeless tale will enchant audiences of all ages—winner of the Best Animation Feature at Santa Clarita International Film Festival 2020.

Director: Yugo Sako, Kouichi Sasaki, Ram Mohan
Screening: Sunday, June 18, 2023 @ 1:00pm
The Toronto Japanese Film Festival’s mandate is aligned with that of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. In the 60 years since the opening of the JCCC, film has been an important tool in creating friendship, understanding, and exchange between the Japanese and broader Canadian community. Ticket sales from the festival also help to drive our heritage programming which shares the important lessons of cultural acceptance and human rights, implicit in the Japanese Canadian experience with all Canadians.