The 2009 Oscars were a triumph for Japanese cinema with Departures (Okuribito) winning Best Foreign Film and The House Of Small Cubes (Tsumiki no le) chosen as Best Animated Short. Japan has a vibrant film culture that stretches from Ozu and Mizoguchi to Kitano and Koreeda yet surprisingly few Japanese films ever secure British distribution. The heartwarming Departures is just the tip of the iceberg and this year’s Glasgow Film Festival has curated a focus on new Japanese cinema importing a selection of titles that can only be seen in Glasgow.
Our selections vary across genre, style and subject from the polished period thriller Zero Focus based on the classic murder mystery by Seicho Matsumoto and Island Of Dreams, an astonishing cinemascope debut feature from Tsuta Tetsuichiro, to the wild and wonderful Yatterman, the latest offering from cult director Takashi Miike.
March 2010 marks the centenary of the birth of Akira Kurosawa, an anniversary we celebrate with a rare screening of his epic Ran. Kurosawa is the director who introduced many international audiences to Japanese cinema. It seems appropriate that we honour his remarkable legacy in the year that we celebrate a new wave of Japan’s finest filmmakers.
Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and The Japan Foundation.
Click film titles for more info and to buy tickets online.
Coming to see lots of films during the festival? Why not take advantage of our saver deals where you can get standard* tickets for as little as £4 each! And, if you want to share a pass with a friend or loved one, that's fine, you can buy up to two tickets to one film.
5 Film Saver (£25)
10 Film Saver (£45)
20 Film Saver (£80)
If you wish to purchase 5, 10 or 20 ticket Internet Saver Deal for GFF, please go to the films of your choice and when selecting your tickets, choose the appropriate option from the prices type list (either Internet Saver 5, Internet Saver 10 or Internet Saver 20. Put a maximum of 2 tickets per film into the basket to the total of the amount you wish to buy (5, 10 or 20 total tickets) and when the final ticket is put in the basket the total amount will be discounted at the checkout stage of the transaction. Please note the reduction will ONLY occur if the correct price type has been selected throughout the transaction and the deal is only available on standard priced shows in the festival, subject to availability.
*Some special events, workshops and free events are not included in the Internet Saver Deal. These are marked throughout this site with an asterix at the end of the title.
