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CAMBRIDGE JAPAN FEST FEB – MAR 2025
The 2025 edition will be presented throughout February and March in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, Film@Jesus, Jesus College, Cambridge University, and Cambridge Festival. Events on the 8th Feb and 2nd Mar will be held in the Frankopan Hall, Jesus College. The full line-up includes several UK premieres, ten regional premieres and nominees for this year’s 48th Japan Academy Awards inc. ‘A Girl Named Ann’, ‘A Samurai in Time’, and ‘All the Long Nights’.
RUDE TO LOVE 愛に乱暴 2024, 105 mins (12A)
UK PREMIERE
Directed by: MORIGAKI Yukihiro
Starring: EGUCHI Noriko, KOIZUMI Kotaro, BABA Fumika, FUBUKI Jun
Saturday 8 February @ 12.30pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Hard-working, well-dressed, and caring, housewife Momoko (EGUCHI Noriko) seems an ideal daughter-in-law, but she is growing frustrated by her mother-in-law’s (FUBUKI Jun) intrusions, her untidy neighbours, and her husband’s (KOIZUMI Kotaro) indifference. When she discovers his affair, she is finally driven to madness. Based on the original novel Shuichi Yoshida ‘Rude to Love’ published by Shinchosha.
ALL THE LONG NIGHTS 夜明けのすべて 2024, 119 mins (12A)
Directed by: MIYAKE Sho
Starring: MATSUMURA Hokuto, KAMISHIRAISHI Mone, MITSUISHI Ken, Ryo
Saturday 8 February @ 2.30pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Misa (KAMISHIRAISHI Mone), a woman with debilitating PMS, and Takatoshi (MATSUMURA Hokuto), a man with a severe panic disorder, initially clash when they meet at work. But they soon find unexpected solace in one another in this gentle drama about friendship and human connections.
STAY MUM かくしごと 2024, 128 mins (12A)
Q&A following the screening with director SEKINE Kosai
Directed by: SEKINE Kosai
Starring: WATANABE Anne, OKUDA Eiji, NAKASU Toma
Saturday 8 February @ 5pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
While Chisako (Anne) is visiting her dementia-stricken estranged father (OKUDA Eiji), she encounters a boy (NAKASU Toma) who has lost his memory. Spotting signs of child abuse on his body, Chisako decides to pretend to be his mother, but the destructive consequences of her lie soon begin to close in.
THE SCOOP! 新米記者トロッ子 私がやらねば誰がやる！ 2024, 98 mins (PG)
UK PREMIERE
Directed by: KOBAYASHI Keiichi
Starring: FUJIYOSHI Karin, TAKAISHI Akari, KUMADA Rinka, NAKAI Tomo
Saturday 8 February @ 8pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Bookworm Yui (FUJIYOSHI Karin) has been given a unique entry requirement for her school’s literature club: she must find out the true identity of an elusive but famous student writer. Yui infiltrates the newspaper club to investigate, but quickly discovers dark secrets that will shake her school to its very core.
THANK YOU
Thanks to all for joining us on the 8th Feb
TEA FRIENDS 茶飲友達 2022, 134 mins (15)
Directed by: SOTOYAMA Bunji
Starring: OKAMOTO Rei, ISONISHI Maki, KAINUMA Miu, WATANABE Tetsu
Sunday 2 March @ 12.30pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Mana (OKAMOTO Rei) is the founder of “Tea Friends,” a call girl service that sends elderly “tea girls” to its lonely old callers, ostensibly for company. The group enjoys booming business and a deep sense of camaraderie, but its seemingly-unbreakable bonds suddenly begin to collapse.
A GIRL NAMED ANN あんのこと 2024, 113 mins (15)
Directed by: IRIE Yu
Starring: KAWAI Yumi, SATO Jiro, INAGAKI Goro
Sunday 2 March @ 3pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Ann (KAWAI Yumi) has survived a traumatic, troubled childhood. One day, she meets detective TATARA (SATO Jiro), who successfully sets her up for a better life. Soon enough, though, rumours begin to circulate about TATARA’s involvement in a scandal, and a pandemic threatens Ann’s future.
SAKURA 朽ちないサクラ 2024, 119 mins (15)
Directed by: HARA Hiroto
Starring: SUGISAKI Hana, YASUDA Ken, HAGIWARA Riku, TOYOHARA Kosuke
Sunday 2 March @ 5.30pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Police PR employee MORIGUCHI Izumi’s (SUGISAKI Hana) best friend is murdered in the midst of a major police misconduct scandal. Izumi is determined to find the killer, but the police force’s secrets run deep, and Izumi’s search for justice uncovers far more than she bargained for in this suspenseful mystery-thriller.
QUALIA クオリア 2023, 96 mins (12A)
Directed by: USHIMARU Ryo
Starring: SASAKI Kokone, KUDAMATSU Maya, KIGUCHI Kenta, ISHIKAWA Ruka
Sunday 2 March @ 8pm (Frankopan Hall, Jesus College)
Yuko’s (SASAKI Kokone) search for a new live-in employee leads her to Saki (ISHIKAWA Ruka), her husband’s (KIGUCHI Kenta) mistress. Throw in a bullying sister-in-law (KUDAMATSU Maya) and a reclusive colleague (TO Chikara), and Yuko’s once-peaceful life becomes a tangle of bizarre relationships in this black comedy.
FINDING THE VENUE
Screenings on Sat 8 Feb and Sun 2 Mar will take place in the Frankopan Hall, which is located in West Court, Jesus College. The pedestrian entrance can be accessed from Jesus Lane. Please see the detailed map below for further information.
MARCH
Five further screenings will follow throughout March. Provisional dates are 4th, 11th, 24th, and 28th March. Final dates and locations to be announced
THE MOON 月 2023, 144 mins (15)
Directed by: ISHII Yuya
Starring: MIYAZAWA Rie, ISOMURA Hayato, NIKAIDO Fumi, ODAGIRI Joe
Tuesday 4 March @ 6pm (CRASSH, Alison Richard Building, West Road)
Once-popular novelist Yoko (MIYAZAWA Rie) starts work at an institution for the disabled, where she discovers the residents’ horrifying living conditions. When even empathetic carer SATO (ISOMURA Hayato) – her only solace – starts considering the residents soulless societal burdens, the consequences are devastating.
DAY AND NIGHT デイアンドナイト 2019, 134 mins (15)
Directed by: FUJII Michihito
Starring: ABE Shinnosuke, ANDO Masanobu, KIYOHARA Kaya
Tuesday 11 March @ 6pm (CRASSH, Alison Richard Building, West Road)
Koji’s (ABE Shinnosuke) father, a whistle-blower, takes his own life. Under pressure from his father’s debtors, Koji begins work at an orphanage run by Kenichi (ANDO Masanobu), but when he is also dragged into Kenichi’s criminal activities by night, the line between good and evil begins to blur.
WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR NEST EGG 老後の資金がありません！ 2021, 115 mins (PG)
Directed by: MAEDA Tetsu
Starring: AMAMI Yuki, MATSUSHIGE Yutaka, KUSABUE Mitsuko
Monday 24 March @ 6pm (Buckingham House Lecture Theatre, Murray Edwards College)
Frugal housewife Atsuko’s (AMAMI Yuki) retirement savings are struck by a series of disasters: she is forced to pay for an expensive funeral for her father-in-law, her husband loses his job, and above all, her big-spending mother-in-law (KUSABUE Mitsuko) moves in… Can the family overcome their newfound financial adversity?
99% CLOUDY … ALWAYS 99%、いつも曇り 2023, 110 mins (12A)
Directed by: SANGOUMI Midori
Starring: SANGOUMI Midori, NIKAIDO Satoshi, ENA Ayumi
Friday 28 March @ 6pm (Buckingham House Lecture Theatre, Murray Edwards College)
When 45-year-old KUSUNOKI Kazuha (SANGOUMI Midori) is asked if she’s ever going to have children, she is uncertain, not only due to a past miscarriage but also because of her Asperger’s syndrome. This uncompromising drama explores the conventional standards enforced upon women on the autism spectrum.
A SAMURAI IN TIME 侍タイムスリッパー 2024, 131 mins (12A)
Directed by: YASUDA Junichi
Starring: YAMAGUCHI Makiya, FUKE Norimasa, SAKURA Yuno
Friday 28 March @ 8pm (Buckingham House Lecture Theatre, Murray Edwards College)
Edo-era samurai KOSAKA Shinzaemon (YAMAGUCHI Makiya) is suddenly transported through time – onto the set of a 21st-century period drama. Lost, confused and alone, he eventually finds purpose in utilising his sword skills as a TV extra. A clever, characterful comedy featuring remarkable observations of today’s film industry.
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JAPAN FOUNDATION
MAJOR SUPPORTERS
SUPPORTED BY
PHOTO CREDITS
Rude to Love – ©2013 Shuichi Yoshida/Shinchosha ©2024 Rude to Love Film Production Committee
All the Long Nights – ©Maiko Seo / 2024 All the Long Nights Film Partners
Stay Mum – ©2024 Stay Mum Film Partners
The Scoop – ©2024 The Scoop Film Partners
Tea Friends – ©2022 Tea Friends Film Partners
A Girl Named Ann – ©2024 A Girl Named Ann Film Partners
Sakura – ©2024 Sakura Film Partners
Qualia – ©2023 Qualia Film Partners
A Samurai in Time – ©MIRAIEIGASHA
Day and Night – ©2019 Day and Night Film Partners