Chicago Japan Film Collective
Website: https://cjfc.us
Inquiries: contact@cjfc.us
Discount code: CJFC2024GST
Available: Until November 24th, 19:00 Chicago time
Discounts:: $2 off (can be used multiple times)
Applicable to: 9 individual films and/or festival pass
- 99% Cloudy… Always/99%、いつも曇り
[SANGOUMI Midori | Drama, Family | Japan | 2023 | 110 min. | International Premiere | (c)35 Films Parks]
*Tanabe Benkei Film Festival Recommendation
Uncle’s remark, “Aren’t you planning to have children?” shakes Kazuha Kusunoki (45). Struggling with her tendencies towards Asperger’s and the pain of a miscarriage, she faces the reality that her husband, Daichi (50), wants children. On top of that, they are encouraged to adopt, and their relationship slowly begins to drift apart…
2. Bring Minyo Back!/ブリング·ミンヨー·バック！
[MORIWAKI Yuji | Documentary, Music | Japan | 2022 | 83 min. | U.S. Premiere | (C)Yuji Moriwaki All rights reserved]
“What is minyo?” The Minyo Crusaders, based in Fussa, Tokyo, breathe new life into traditional Japanese folk music with unique influences. Not only gaining attention in Japan but internationally as well, this documentary follows their five-year challenge to revive minyo.
3. Copo a Copo/コーポ·ア·コーポ
[JINDO Masaaki | Drama | Japan | 2023 | 97 min. | International Premiere | (c)GOT/Renji Iwanami]
Set in a low-rent apartment called “Copo” in the old town of Osaka, this heartwarming ensemble story follows quirky tenants with complicated backgrounds living under the same roof. Through ups and downs, they live resiliently, saying, “Things happen, but it’ll be fine.” The original story is from Renji Iwanami’s first comic book.
4. Esper X Private Detective Agency – Searching for Good-Bye –/エスパーX探偵社 ～さよならのさがしもの～
[KOBA Akiyoshi |SF, Suspense, Drama | Japan | 2023 | 90 min. | International Premiere | (c)2023 Inazumasha]
*Jimbocho Movie Festival Recommendation
In Tokyo’s Asakusa, where supernatural crimes are on the rise, the detective Matsuda, who can understand others’ emotions by being hit, teams up with a detective with a complicated past, Minamino, to solve cases. This new take on detective films blends mystery and the supernatural.
5. The Girls/愚鈍の微笑み
[UGANA Kenichi | Drama, Fantasy, War | Japan | 2023 | 60 min. | U.S. Premiere| (c)Harumakigo ]
Mana, Nanami, and Yuka, childhood friends, gather at a cabin in the woods. Although they engage in trivial conversations, an unsettling tension occasionally emerges. Their seemingly ordinary lives reveal much more in this anti-war themed film.
6. House of Sayuri ／サユリ
[SHIRAISHI Koji | Horror | Japan | 2024 |108 min. | U.S. Premiere | (c)2024 “SAYURI” Production Committee]
Visionary director Koji Shiraishi brings Renji Oshikiri’s popular horror manga to the screen in House of Sayuri. The ghost of Sayuri haunts the Kamiki family’s new dream home, and the surviving eldest son, Norio, teams up with his dementia-ridden grandmother, Harue, to seek revenge. This thrilling Japanese horror entertainment takes you on a terrifying ride!
7. Leave in Summer／あの娘は知らない
[IGASHI Aya | Drama, Romance | Japan | 2021 | 75 min. | International Premiere | ©LesPros entertainment]
Set in Usami, a seaside town in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, this original film by Aya Igashi explores the meeting and healing between Nana and Shuntaro, both of whom carry feelings of loss. As they comfort each other in their loneliness, they gradually start moving forward together.
8. New Nemuro Pro Wrestling Story／新根室プロレス物語
[MINATO Hiroshi | Documentary, Sports | Japan | 2024 | 79 min. | International Premiere | (c)Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting Co., Ltd.]
A documentary following the amateur pro-wrestling group, Shin-Nemuro Pro Wrestling, based in Nemuro, Hokkaido. The film captures the deep bonds of the group, drawn to its passionate leader, Samson Miyamoto, who fights a serious illness while striving for town revitalization. The TV version received the Galaxy Award Encouragement Prize, among others.
9. Not Born Yesterday／きのう生まれたわけじゃない
[FUKUMA Kenji | Drama, Fantasy | Japan | 2023 | 86 min. | International Premiere | (c)tough mama]
Kenji Fukuma’s final work celebrates the life of the poet and filmmaker who “lived through poetry and film.” Not Born Yesterday tells the touching story of a girl who can read minds and a former sailor mourning his late wife, reflecting Fukuma’s belief that through encounters with others, we can find small glimmers of hope.
10. Qualia／クオリア
[USHIMARU Ryo | Drama | Japan | 2023 | 96 min. | North American Premiere | ©2023 Qualia Film Partners]
Yuko, married into a poultry farm family, diligently takes care of the household while enduring harassment from her husband’s sister. One day, a new live-in worker named Saki joins the farm, but it turns out she is her husband’s lover. Thus begins a strange and awkward cohabitation.
11. Till The Day I Can Laugh About My Blues／ブルーを笑えるその日まで
[TAKEDA Karin | Youth, Fantasy, Drama | Japan | 2023 | 99 min. | North American Premiere | (c)Eijitsukajin/Takeda Karin/kotofilm]
In this summer story, middle schooler Ann, who doesn’t fit in at school, meets Aina on the rooftop, who holds a kaleidoscope just like hers. They quickly become friends and spend an unforgettable summer together, but Ann starts to suspect Aina might be the “rooftop ghost” rumored at school. A touching debut feature film by rising director Karin Takeda, based on her personal experience.