The 13th Anniversary – 15 short films in 2 days
In-Person: November 1 – November 2, 2024
This year marks the 13th edition of the New York Japan CineFest (NYJCF), which will screen a total of 15 Japanese independent short films over two days. The venue on Friday, November 1st, will be Asia Society in Manhattan, and on Saturday, November 2nd, it will be Thespis Theater in Queens. The main host is Mar Creation and the first day will be co-hosted by Asia Society, and by the Hellenic Cultural Center NYC. In collaboration with: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, and Jimbocho Movie Festival.
The 15 selected films for the 2024 edition cover a wide range of themes, from LGBTQ+ narratives like Me and Her and AI-themed AI Love You, to stories about post-war Japanese American families such as Resettlement: Chicago Story. The lineup also includes documentaries like Yasuke the African Samurai, which focuses on the historical African samurai, Yoichi’s White House, which follows the first official Japanese American photographer at the White House, and Okinawa Americana, a music documentary featuring blues and Okinawan folk music. Additionally, there’s an animation featuring a vegetable as the main character titled Tomatoes, and an experimental piece themed around torii gates called TORII, making for a rich and diverse selection.
NYJCF was established in 2012 by three Japanese individuals based in New York: Yasu Suzuki (actor and film director), Kosuke Furukawa (visual artist), and Hiroshi Kono (event and music producer, and representative of Mar Creation, Inc.). Since the 2015 season, in addition to screenings in various metropolitan areas across the U.S., including Boston and DC, they have collaborated with numerous film festivals in Japan. Due to the impact of COVID-19, they switched to online events starting in 2020, and from 2022, they have been hosting hybrid events. This year, they are also providing works for the Boston Japan Film Festival and Japanese Film Festival of Arizona.
[In-person]
Day 1
Date: Friday, November 1, 2024
Showtime: 6:30pm / Open: 6:00pm
Place: Asia Society
Address: 725 Park Ave, NYC (@ 70th St)
Tickets: $15 (general), $8 (member). students/senior discount code：SENSTU
Link: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/new-york-japan-cinefest-2024
Day 2
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Showtime: 3:00pm～6:00pm (intermission), Oen: 2:30pm
Place: Thespis Theater | Hellenic Cultural Center NYC
Address: 25-02 Newtown Ave, Astoria, NY 11102
Admission: Advance: $15.00 (Eventbrite fee $2.85 is not included) / Door：$18.00
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1049728013747
[Online Festival]
Dates: Mon, November 4, 12:00am – Sun,10th, 11:59pm
Watch Site：https://watch.nyjcf.com/
Festival Pass: $15.00
Day One
November 1st
[Asia Society] Total: 94’15”
Yoichi’s White House
Dir. Eric Elofson | 2024 | 15:15 | Documentary | USA
The son of a Samurai with unprecedented access to the President, and the man who preserved his legacy.
Ding Dong Ditch
Dir. Chavo | 2024 | 10:59 | Drama | Japan
“I want to disappear” is written in the dirt of the park. A correspondence between a boy who longs to be a villain and a girl who waits for her mother in the park at night.
AI Love You
Dir. Raita Yabushita | 2023 | 6:55 | Drama | Japan
After a software glitch causes an advanced AI program to fall in love with a young woman, it escapes into the body of a man and tries to win her heart.
The Bride Who Rides A Sleigh
Dir. Yoshiro Osaka | 2024 | 28:50 | Drama | Japan
Ten years after the war, in the snowy regions of northern Japan, the bride was taken from her home to the groom’s by horse-drawn sleigh.
Tomatoes
Dir.Kei Kanamori | 2023 | 4:40 | Animation | Japan
Tomatoes on the conveyor belt must pass a tough audition to become delicious canned tomatoes.
KOI
Dir. Justine Kaneda | 2024 | 8:29 | Drama | USA
Together, they’re whole. A pair of koi pins reflects the unbreakable bond between two sisters and how they are connected even when one is gone.
Torii
Dir. Martin Gerigk | 2024 | 12:30 | Experimental | Germany
Torii is a short film in the form of an audiovisual composition about the traditional Shinto gates of the same name in Japan.
Yasuke the African Samurai
Dir. Scott Palazzo | 2024 | 6:37 | Animation, Documentary | USA
Yasuke The African Samurai tells the story of history’s first foreign samurai, who lived and fought in 16th-century Japan.
Day Two
November 2nd
[Thespis Theater] 130’14”
Resettlement:
Chicago Story
Dir. Reina Higashitani | 2022 | 16:50 | History Drama | USA
The story depicts a Japanese American family that “resettled” in Chicago a few years after being forcibly interned by the U.S. government, as they run a dry cleaning business and navigate their lives.
Okinawa Americana
Dir. Ko Hama | 2024 | 21:19 | Documentary | Japan
Interview of American Blues and Okinawa folk duo, Okinawa Americana.
UME or (The Will To Fly Blind)
Dir.Sam Kumiko Sheridan | 2024 | 14:38 | Drama | USA
“Ume” is set in New York and follows the story of a 17-year-old Japanese American girl who faces an unexpected pregnancy and strives to move forward.
Me and Her
Dir. Romi Hasegawa | 2023 | 22:00 | Drama、LGBTQ+ | Japan
A deeply tender love story that transcends gender and connection, depicted in a world without dialogue.
The New World
Dir. Tomomi Muraguchi | 2023 | 7:44 | Drama | Japan (SSFF & ASIA)
On a sunny June day, Kaname summons old friends to the wilderness with a purpose, but only Fuku arrives.
Future! Future!
Dir. Kairi Manabe, Yoshihiko Yamamoto | 2023 | 25:00 | Drama、SF | Japan (JMF)
Makoto is a high school girl who has been a science fiction enthusiast. One day, she meets Shinichi, a young man from the future.
Wandering Memories
Dir. Yuta Noguchi | 2023 | 25:00 | Drama | Japan (JMF)
A mother searches for her missing son, only to confront an outcome that awaits her after exchanging memories and information. This is a story about a parent and child, woven around themes of memory and loss.
* In associated with
– SSFF: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA)
– JMF: Jimbocho Movie Festival