Chicago Japanese Film Collective— the first Japanese film festival in the Midwest.
Brings a hybrid screening for the second year.
Festival Dates: May 21st (Sat) – 30th (Mon) for 10 days
Chicago, IL—The first and only Japanese film festival in Midwest brings the hybrid screening to the audience. The 2nd Chicago Japanese Film Collective (CJFC) will screen a total of 13 films, both in-theater and streaming online. The CJFC is organized by the CJFC Executive Committee, founder Yuki Sakamoto (President, Coyote Sun Productions), co-founder Hiroshi Kono (President, Mar Creation), and co-presenter FULL SPECTRUM FEATURES.
The theme of this year’s festival is “Love.” with the pandemic when face-to-face contact was limited, and the war in Ukraine, which is happening right now – many people must have thought deeply about life and the relationship between human beings. A total of 14 carefully selected films convey through cinema the love that is indispensable to us human beings, no matter what form it takes, and how that love should be.
This is the first theatrical screening at the festival, and the in-theater schedule is as follows: the drama “Japanese Style” (directed by Abera Hidenobu), which has not yet been released in Japan, will open the festival on the 21st, and on the 24th, “truth” will be screened, including a virtual Q&A discussion between director TSUTSUMI Yukihiko, who made his 50th film and first independent film, and Chicago’s Japanese movie fans. The closing on May 29 will be the documentary “Seppuku Pistols” (directed by Yo Umezaki) with a surprise guest that will conclude the end of this year’s festival.
On May 24th, the CJFC Career Achievement Award will be presented virtually to director TSUTSUMI Yukihiko in recognition of his significant contributions and achievements to the Japanese film industry. In addition to the theatrical screening of ttruth: 1 Night,1 Room, 3 Baddest Bitches, My House will also screen during the festival as an online tribute.
Theater screenings will be in Chicago on May 21, 24, and 29, with three films at The Logan Theatre and Gene Siskel Film Center (2 narrative and 1 documentary) in Chicago and 10 films (8 narratives and 2 documentaries) will be available for viewing in the U.S. online from May 21 to 30. The festival platform will be the same as last year, Eventive.
DETAILS: Festival Period: Saturday, May 21, 2022 (Sat) – MOnday, May 30, 2022 (CDT, USA)
+In-theater screening (Chicago, IL)
- Saturday, May 21, 2022: “Festival Opening Presentation ”
JAPANESE STYLE by ABERA Hidenobu
at The Logan Theatre #3 (105 seats) at 7 pm (CDT)
- GENERAL ADMISSION: $12
*Student discount code is available: Please contact info@cjfc.us
- Tuesday, May 24, 2022: “Special Presentation”
TRUTH: 1 NIGHT,1 ROOM, 3 BADDEST BITCHES by TSUTSUMi Yukihiko
at Gene Siskel Film Center at 7 pm (CDT)
- GENERAL ADMISSION: $12
- STUDENT: $5 with student ID
- Sunday, May 29, 2022: “Festival Closing Presentation”
THE SEPPUKU PISTOLS by UMEZAKI Yo
at Gene Siskel Film Center at 7 pm (CDT)
- GENERAL ADMISSION: $12
- STUDENT: $5 with student ID
+ Virtual screening U.S. nationwide
- ALL ACCESS PASS (11Films): $25
- 5 VIRTUAL TICKET BUNDLE (5Films): $20
- SINGLE VIRTUAL TICKET (1 Film): $10
*Early Bird (until 5/10): $2 off (for Single Virtual Ticket, $1 off)
*Student discount code is available: Please contact contact@cjfc.us
+ Film Festival Platform: EVENTIVE
+ Official Website: https://www.cjfc.us
+Audience Award: Votes for the Audience Award will be cast through Eventive and the award will be announced at the conclusion of the festival.
- Actress Montage／アクトレスモンタージュ
[MINAKUCHI Monzo | Drama | Japan | 2021 | 74 Min. | North American Premiere]
Four floundering actresses: an idol seeking answers in drugs and religion; a debutant besieged by casting couch harassment; a housewife trading her dreams in for domesticity; and a dreamer from the countryside falling prey to a predatory industry. What shines through in the lives of these four strangers who never meet each other?
- Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan／Ainu | ひと
[MIZIGUCHI Maoni | Documentary, Ainu | Japan | 2019 | 61 Min. | Midwest Premiere]
Hokkaido is the homeland of the Ainu people. This documentary portrays four individuals with diverse personalities who are working to pass on Ainu culture and language, which has been under threat since the Meiji era.
- Arano／あらののはて
[HASEGAWA Tomofumi | Drama, Romance | Japan | 2020 | 69 Min. | North American Premiere]
When Arano asks his classmate Fuko to be his art model, Fuko collapses under the intensity of the sensation. Ever since that day Fuko has held special feelings for Arano and, eight years later, she invites him to recreate “that moment” in the very same classroom.
- Before the Rainbow Falls／虹が落ちる前に
[Koji Uehara | Drama | Japan | 2021 | 115 Min. | Midwest Premiere]
Despite continuing to play in his unsuccessful band, Kohei is surrounded by good friends and a precious girlfriend and so he enjoys a normal life. But “one day” he loses everything. And although he knows he can never get his old life back, he decides to move on by writing a song.
- Howling／遠吠え
[M HARIS SHEIKH | Drama | Japan | 2021 | 86 Min. | International Premiere]
Ryuji is in his 40s and has no job, no honor, no money, and no woman, but is suddenly offered a chance to prove himself by committing murder and saving his first love. This film is a black comedy about people on the edge, defying life in a last-ditch way.
- Japanese Style／ジャパニーズ スタイル
[ABERA Hidenobu | Drama | Japan | Japan | 2020 | 93 Min. | North American Premiere]
On New Year’s Eve, two strangers must share a tuk-tuk, an auto-rickshaw, all the way to Yokohama. As their attraction to each other grows, their secrets slowly come to light.
- MY HOUSE／MY HOUSE
[TSUTSUMI Yukihiko | Drama | Japan | 2011 | 93 Min. | Midwest Premiere]
Suzumoto and Sumi creatively master their independent lives while living in a park in Nagoya. In contrast, a middle-class family is caught up in pressure and routine. The two threads of the story gradually intertwine, until a tragic escalation occurs. Shot with a black-and-white documentary feel, yet highly stylized, the film analyzes the contradictions and pathologies of modern society.
- Osaka Bros／ねばぎば新世界
[UENISHI Yudai | Drama | Japan | 2020 | 118 Min. | Midwest Premiere]
A notorious former boss with a reputation for mercilessly dispatching gangsters must summon his faithful henchman and go on a mission to save a child who has been brainwashed by a cult. This film is a thrilling action drama that revisits the good old Showa era.
- PARALLEL／PARALLEL
[TANAKA Daiki | Horror, Romance | First Feature | Japan | 2021 | 84 Min.]
The story unfolds with a coincidental meeting of a murderer, who repeatedly kills in the guise of an anime character, and a girl with a tender heart who lives with her past trauma. In the real world, where the past and the virtual mingle together, the two search for supreme love and pursue each other with reckless abandon as they head toward a beautiful yet terrifying finale.
- The Seppuku Pistols／切腹ピストルズ
[UMEZAKI Yo | Documentary, Music | Japan | 2019 | 115 Min. | International Premiere]
Appearing in unexpected places and moments, the Seppuku Pistols are a Japanese drum group that carry on traditions from 150 years ago. In this documentary road movie, the guerrilla-style group performs throughout Japan before making it all the way to New York City.
- Shinjuku Tiger／新宿タイガー
[SATO Yoshinori | Documentary | Japan | 2019 | 83 Min.| North American Premiere]
A mysterious masked man appears in Shinjuku in 1972. Wearing a tiger mask, he continues to deliver newspapers in Shinjuku for the rest of his life. This documentary follows Shinjuku Tiger, a living legend who seeks dreams and romance and loves cinema, sake, and beautiful women.
- The Takatsu River／高津川
[NISHIKORI Yoshinari | Drama | Japan | 2019 | 113 Min. | North American Permiere]
The transmission of Kagura Dance, said to be the origin of kabuki, is the constant work of a story of people who, in the midst of a region where the population drain cannot be stopped, try to earnestly live while preserving the purity of their traditions.
- Truth: 1 Night,1 Room, 3 Baddest Bitches／truth ～姦しき弔いの果て～
[TSUTSUMI Yukihiko | Drama | Japan | 2021 | 72 min. | R12+ | North American Premiere]
A man, loved by three women, suddenly dies. On the night of his funeral, the three women gather in his studio where, surprised by the presence of their rivals, bare their feminine instincts and desires in the pursuit of truth.
- The World of You／麻紀のいる世界
[SHIOTA Akihiko | Drama | Japan | 2022 | 89 Min. | North American Premiere]
Due to a life-threatening chronic illness, Yuki’s goal is just to survive high school. But when she meets Maki, a girl with a bad reputation, the two outsiders become fast friends. And when Yuki discovers Maki’s beautiful singing voice, she suggests that they form a band to fight against the stigma they both face.