The 13th Season of Contemporary Japanese Films 2012
Japan: Land for Hope
3rd - 24th February, 2012
- Friday 03 Feb 'Hotel Hibiscus'
- Friday 10 Feb 'Penguins in the Sky - Asahiyama Zoo'
- Friday 17 Feb 'The Face of Jizo'
- Friday 24 Feb 'Zen'
Venue: The Gilmorehill Centre, University of Glasgow, 9 University Avenue, Glasgow G12
Admission: Free
Screening: from 6.30pm. Free tickets will be issued from 6pm from the box office. No reservation will be avalable.
Double Bill: A short cultural documentary film will be screened prior to the screening of a feature film.
Language: In Japanese with English subtitles
The event is co-organised by Japan Desk Scotland and The Japan Foundation, with financial support from ICHIBAN Noodle & Sushi Cafe.
'Hotel Hibicus'
03 February
'The Art of Bashofu Weaving' (30 min) (1981)
'Hotel Hibiscus'
(Director: Yuji NAKAE) (92min) (2002)
Hotel Hibiscus in Okinawa, a southern island of Japan, has only one guest room. At the hotel, 9-year-old Mieko lives happily with her parents, her grandmother and half brother and sister. On her way home from school, Mieko saves a teenage boy and he becomes the hotel's sole guest. Along with her classmates, Mieko spends her days trying to find 'Kijimuna the Forest Fairy'. Based on a manga and situated in the 1980s. Full of Okinawan music.
'Penguins in the Sky - Asahiyama Zoo'
10 February
'The Art of Bamboo' (30min) (1986)
'Penguins in the Sky - Asahiyama Zoo'
(Director: Masahiko MAKINO) (112min) (2009)
Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, a northern island of Japan, gained attention as the first zoo in Japan to develop exhibition spaces designed to showcase animals' natural behaviour, becoming one of the country's leading tourist attractions. Incorporating abundant footage of the animals in action, the story follows the zoo's attempts to revitalise itself after a crisis of near-closure due to falling attendance.
'The Face of Jizo'
17 February
'The Edo Stage: Kabuki and Bunraku' (29min) (1980)
'The Face of Jizo'
(Director: Kazuo KUROKI) (99min) (2004)
Based on a play by Hisashi INOUE, and situated inHiroshimaof 1948. Mitsue, a librarian in her 20s, feels guilty of having survived the dropping of the atomic bomb while many people perished, including her father, and is reluctant to pursue a happy life. Her father appears to her as a ghost, persuading her to develop a relationship with a young man she recently met.
'Zen'
24 February
'The Taiko' (20min) (1985)
'Zen'
(Director: Banmei TAKAHASHI) (127min) (2008)
Dogen spread the Soto school of Zen Buddhism across Japan in the 13th century. He travels to China in his 20s, and fin ally attains enlightenment at dawn. He returns to Japan and spread Zen and gains the adoration of the general populace. This provokes jealousy in the monks from Mt. Hiei, who drive him out to Echizen, where he sets up Eeihei-ji temple and continues preaching.
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