Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival – March 29

COVID-19

Beloved festival-goers, it has become apparent that it is in everyone’s best interest to cancel JFF 2020 due to the COVID 19 outbreak – the most important thing is for everyone to stay safe! We will miss seeing all of your faces and sharing these wonderful films with you. But we are looking forward to an even better festival in 2021! Also, please be aware that our festival location Row House Cinema will be closed for the foreseeable future.

Your tickets and passes will be honored for JFF 2021 and they can also be exchanged for future screenings at Row House Cinema (courtesy of the movie theater). We are very sensitive to individual circumstances and needs, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email info@jffpgh.org or call 412-904-3225 (Row House Cinema).

We appreciate your support and one of the best ways to support us is by supporting Row House Cinema. How can you help? Go to www.rowhousecinema.com and……

Join the Row House Cinema Film Club
Buy a Row House Cinema gift card

Sincerely,

The Japanese Film Festival Team

TICKETS

FILMS

THE ISLAND OF CATS

OPENING NIGHT FILM Pittsburgh Premiere

Adapted from the hit manga, “Nekomaki”, is the heart-warming, feel-good film, THE ISLAND OF CATS. The movie follows the life of a country tabby cat, Tama, and his human servant, Daikichi, living on an island of cats. Daikichi is a seventy-year-old widower enjoying a quiet, routine life until an island newcomer opens a modern cafe encouraging Daikichi and Tama to indulge in new culinary adventures. A perfect film for food and cat lovers!

RISE OF THE MACHINE GIRLS & Japan's Craziest TV Game Shows

CLOSING NIGHT FILM Pittsburgh Premiere

Enjoy a pre-show short compilation of clips from Japan’s whackiest TV game shows! Then get ready for RISE OF THE MACHINE GIRLS — In the reboot of the cult feature, The Machine Girl, comes a high-energy action film about sisters Ami and Yoshie living in a future Japan. The two make a living by performing in fight shows, but their skills are put to the test when captured by an organ-trafficking ring.

A GIRL MISSING

Pittsburgh Premiere
2019

Striking a deft balance between quiet character study and nuanced revenge drama, this suspenseful slow-burn absorbs viewers as one woman’s multi-pronged truth becomes a weapon, giving rise to madness, vengeance, and desire.

CHILDREN OF THE SEA

Pittsburgh Sneak Preview
2020

When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works, and now she has the ability to hear calls from the ocean. Along with two friends, she is drawn into the mystery of the sudden disappearance of the world’s sea creatures.

HUMAN LOST

Anime
2019

In a dystopian future where disease has been conquered, wealth disparity increases, keeping life-prolonging technology out of the hands of the have-nots. When one man is imbued with world-changing powers, mankind is forced to face its own humanity—or lack thereof.

MATANGO: ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE

Cult Classic
1963

A group of castaways who survive a shipwreck are stranded on a mysterious island. The only source of food available appears to be an exotic variety of mushroom that quickly becomes addictive. Inevitably, the fungus transforms those who have eaten it into giant, mushroom-monsters!

RIDE YOUR WAVE

Anime
2020

In this beautifully colored animated film, 19-year-old Hinako is a passionate surfer who meets firefighter, Minato when he rescues her from an apartment fire. They quickly bond and Hinako teaches Minato how to surf. However, tragedy hits when Minato goes surfing during a terrible storm.

SANSHO THE BAILIFF

Tribute to Kenji Mizoguchi
Classic Cinema
1954

Set in 11th-century Japan, the story of a family that is broken apart when the father is cast into exile. His wife and children are left to fend for themselves and are eventually ambushed by vi-cious slave traders.

STREET OF SHAME

Tribute to Kenji Mizoguchi
Classic Cinema
1956

This richly layered masterpiece gives audiences a devastating look into the life of prostitutes in Tokyo’s Red Light District and how they are constantly challenged by the socioeconomic realities surrounding them.

UGETSU

Tribute to Kenji Mizoguchi
Classic Cinema
1953

Taking place in the sixteenth century, amidst the Japanese Civil Wars, is a tale of family and war, men with ambition, and their relationships that suffer as a result. Featuring a ghost story like no other!

VIOLET EVERGARDEN: ETERNITY AND AUTO MEMORY DOLL

Pittsburgh Premiere
Anime
2020

Violet Evergarden’s story brings fans new and old into her detailed, Victorian-inspired world as our titular protagonist continues her quest to understand the meaning of love in the face of loss while helping others do the same.

WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES

Drama
2019

What do kids with no family, no emotions, and no future do? Form a killer rock band, of course. On a quest to regain their feelings, the Little Zombies set out on an over-saturated 8-bit adventure full of wacky songs and stirring empathy.

WEATHERING WITH YOU

Anime
2019

Follow the journey of a high-school boy who has run away to Tokyo and meets a bright and strong-willed girl who possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.

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