VietNamNet Bridge - The Japanese Film Festival 2015 entitled “Colors of Love” will take place from 9 October – 14 November 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City, Danang and Hanoi.

This year’s film festival focuses on the introduction of Japanese films under the theme of “Shape of Heart”, including six films, which portray various shapes of hearts, loves among friends, families, lovers. The festival’s opener is “Beyond the Memories”..

Film Festival Information:

♥ My Pretend Girlfriend

2014/Vista/109’/Color/Teen, Romance

Director: Saiji Yakumo

Based on: Momose, Kotchi o Muite by Eiichi Nakata

Screenplay: Kyoko Inukai

Music: Ryoko Anan

Produced by:  Naomi Akashi,

Kumi Kobata  

[Cast]

Osamu Mukai as Noboru (grown up)  

Tarou Takeuchi as Noboru (high school)

Akari Hayami as Momose

Anna Ishibashi as Tetsuko

Kudo Asuka as Miyazaki

[Synopsis]  

Since entering high school, Noboru Aihara (Takeuchi) has gone mostly unnoticed  by his peers. One day, a friendly senior student called Shun Miyazaki (Asuka Kudo) calls him over and introduces him to Yo Momose (Hayami), a student from a neighboring class, then makes a strange request. In order to quell a rapidly spreading rumor that Shun  has become romantically involved with Momose despite going out with Tetsuko Kanbayashi (Anna Ishibashi), one of the most popular girls in school, he asks Noboru to pretend to be Momose's boyfriend, temporarily...

Based on the novel "Momose, Kotchi wo Muite" by Otsuichi (published May 10,  2008 by Shodensha). The novel was published under the pen name of Eiichi Nakata.

[Film Festivals, Awards]

2014 - (16th) Udine Far East Film - April 25-May 3, 2014 *World Premiere

♥ Beyond the Memories

2013/Vista/127’/Color/Romance

Director: Takehiko Shinjo

Writer: Ryo Ikuemi (manga),  

Sachiko Tanaka, Satomi Oshima  

Cinematographer: Mitsuru Komiyama

Producer: Daisuke Kadoya,  

Minami Ichikawa, Atsushi Terada,

Hiroyasu Asami, Tomoko Jo, Seiji Okuda,  

Naoto Hatakeyama, Kasumi Yao

[Cast]

Masami Nagasawa as Kanna Seto

Masaki Okada as Roku Akazawa

Kengo Kora as Kazue Haruta

Chizuru Ikewaki as Manami Sakuraba

Haru as Tomomi Kawaguchi

Megumi as Chikako Nohara

Aoi Nakamura as Toshikuni Mayama

Yuki Furukawa as Kiyomasa Komine

Kaoru Hirata as Momoka Senke

Ryosei Tayama as bar master

Soko Wada as Yanagihara

[Synopsis]    

Kanna and Haruta are childhood friends. During their first year of high school, one night at a fireworks festival while Kanna is listening to a classmate declare his love for her, Haruta dies in a traffic accident. …Right after he sends a message to her cell phone… Since the accident, Kanna is unable to feel anything romantic for guys and grows older in age but remains a 15-year-old at heart. As an adult, she starts working at a movie publicity company and one day meets Roku, an employee of a publishing firm.

“What a jerk…” She is turned off by Roku, who callously stomps over her heart with his words and actions, but she gradually develops an interest in him. Roku, cheerful and seemingly without a care in the world, actually also has a tragic past. They clash and quarrel but can’t help being attracted to each other. Kanna and Roku, both carrying wounds in their hearts… What does fate have in store for them?

[Film Festivals, Awards]

2013 - (26th) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 17-25, 2013 - Special Screenings 2013 - "Best Supporting Actress" ("Chizuru Ikewaki") at (38th) Hochi Film Awards -December, 2013

♥ It All Began When I Met You

Directed by:   Katsuhide Motoki

Produced by:  Kentaro Koike, Shinzo Matsuhashi

Written by:    Atsuko Hashibe  

[Cast]

Hiroshi Tamaki - Kazuki ("Eve's Lover")

Rin Takanashi - Reiko ("Eve's Lover")

Fumino Kimura - Setsuna ("Long Distance Relationship")

Masahiro Higashide - Takumi ("Long Distance Relationship")

[Synopsis]    

Set during the Christmas time, the film starts at Tokyo Station - one of the busiest stations in the world in which a million people pass through daily Some hoping for a new encounter, some leaving their loved ones, some departing for a new adventure, and some coming home... Kazuki, whose life is busy with running his web design company, doesn’t believe in love anymore.

One day, he meets a struggling actress Reiko in a restaurant and treats her arrogantly due to a small misunderstanding.  But when he learns that Reiko is not a bad person after all, he wants to make it up to her.

In this film, six separate stories are shown to be interlinked as the film progresses, describing ten main characters who are all hoping to express their hearts to someone.

Will they find their miracle of Christmas?

[Film Festivals, Awards]

2013 - (26th) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 17-25, 2013 - Special Screenings

Japanese film festival 2015-BeSuretoShare_Yeuthuongthanhloi

♥ Be Sure to Share

2009 / Vista / 109’ / Color / Family Relationships

Director & Writer: Shion Sono

Cinematographer: Shogo Ueno

Music: Tomohide Harada

Producer: An Umemura, Nichiho Marumo, Toshiie Tomita

[Cast]

Akira as Shiro Kita

Eiji Okuda as Tetsuji Kita

Ayumi Ito as Yoko Nakagawa

Keiko Takahashi as Izumi Kita

Sousuke Takaoka as Keita Tamura  

[Synopsis]    

The cancer-affected body does not show the past glory and strength of Shiro's father any longer. What keeps the family going is the slightest hope they find in his same clear consciousness. Facing the death of his respected but fearful father, the son starts to realize what his old man has really meant in his life for the first time, and starts to enjoy the time together.  

One day, however, the doctor sentences that Shiro himself is also a cancer patient. What is worse is that his condition is worse than the father's... "I might die before him..."

Not wanting to make his father suffer any more than now, the son never tells a soul about his own ending life to the family or his young fiancée. Keeping his secret on his own, on the contrary, he even starts to wish the father to go off earlier.

Facing the unpreventable event in life, "death," what would Shiro choose to share with his loved ones in his remaining time...?

[Film Festivals, Awards]

2013 - (26th) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 17-25, 2013 - Special Screenings

♥ Jinx!!!

2013 / Vista / 122’ / Color / Romance

Director & Editor: Naoto Kumazawa

Screenplay: Yukiko Manabe

Story by: Naoto Kumazawa, Yukiko Manabe

Produced: Cinemat

Music: G

[Cast]

Hyomin as Yoon Jiho

Kirumi Shimizu as Kaede Yamaguchi

Kento Yamazaki as Yusuke Nomura

[Synopsis]  

Jiho (Hyomin) came all the way to Japan from Korea for a 3 month short-stay at a Japanese University. In Japan, she encounters with a quiet sober girl with no friends, Kaede (Kurumi Shimizu) in her school dormitory. When Jiho finds out that Kaede has  a crush on Yusuke (Kento Yamazaki), a boy from the same university, Jiho tries to cheer them through her Korean-style jinx. Jiho, a little pushy girl, starts to drag Yusuke in, and their relation start to turn into an unexpected way…

[Film Festivals, Awards]

2013 - (26th) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 17-25, 2013 - Special Screenings

*World Premiere

2014 - (14th) Nippon Connection - May 27-June 1, 2014 - Nippon Cinema *European Premiere

♥ Life Back Then

2011 / DVD / 131 min. / Color / Love, Strategy                                       

Director: Takahisa Zeze             

Screenplay: Sachiko Tanaka, Takahisa Zeze  

Novel by: Masashi Sada 

[Cast]

Masaki Okada as Kyohei Nagashima   

Nana Eikura as Yuki Kubota  

Tori Matsuzaka as Shintaro Matsui

Shingo Tsurumi as Huruta

Taizo Harada as Sasho

[Synopsis]  

Kyohei Nagashima (Masaki Okada) has shut away the world. During his high school was the target of bullying and experienced horrifying moments. Now as a young adult takes a new job. He works for a company that specializes in cleaning out the homes of recently deceased individuals. With his new job Kyohei meets co-worker Yuki (Nana Eik Yuki has also experienced a traumatizing event as a teen and has also shut herself away the world. These two young people form a bond as they go through the homes of recently departed people. They gradually open up to each other and in the process to world. Yet, their fragile psyches may or may not be ready for such changes...

[Awards, film festivals]

Innovation Award - 2011 (35th) Montreal World Film Festival - August 18-28, 2011

2011 (16th) Busan International Film Festival - October 6-14, 2011 - A Window on Asian Ci

2011 (24th) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 22 - 30, 2011 - Special Screenings

2012 (36th) Hong Kong International Film Festival - March 21-April 5, 20112 - I See It My W

2012 (15th) Shanghai International Film Festival - June 16-24, 2012 - Global Village: Japan Week

Film schedule:

Hanoi: National Cinema Center

87 Lang Ha, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

All films will be screened with both English and Vietnamese sub-titles.

The admission is free, but audience is advised to obtain free tickets at following venues.

✿ Ho Chi Minh City

Ticket distribution

Starts from Friday 2 October 2015

Dong Da Cinema

890 Tran Hung Dao St, Dis 5, HCMC

9:00 – 21:00 (everyday)

Each person can get maximum 6 tickets, 2 tickets for each film

For more information, please contact to the Consulate General of Japan in HCMC.

✿ Danang

Ticket distribution

Starts from Friday 16 October 2015

Le Do Cinema

46 Tran Phu St, Hai Chau Dist., Danang City

For more information on ticket distribution, please contact to the cinema.

✿ Hanoi

Ticket distribution

Starts from 9:30 on Sunday 1 November 2015

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam

9:00 – 18:00 (Mon – Sat)

Each person can get maximum 4 tickets