This
year's Japanese Film Festival is proud to direct its focus on the PIA Film
Festival or PFF in Tokyo. PFF, lays claim to being the first film festival
in Japan, and has always been at the forefront of cinema, introducing works of
rising talents both from within and outside of Japan whose films are rich with
independent spirit such as Hou Hsiao Hsien in 1984 and KAWASE Naomi
in 1993. More importantly, it has launched the careers of some of Japan's most
talented young filmmakers - YAGUCHI Shinobu (SWING GIRLS), OGIGAMI Naoko
(YOSHINO'S BARBER SHOP - JFF2006), SHIOTA Akihiko (HARMFUL INSECT
- JFF2008), SONO Shion (STRANGE CIRCUS - JFF2009), and KUMAKIRI
Kazuyoshi (KICHIKU - JFF2009). Its origins point to a DIY punk attitude
that has been the source of Japanese creative culture, and is a fine example of
independence as it receives no government funding.
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more
This
year's Festival will screen PFF Award winner MIME-MIME, a refreshing look
on growing up shot totally on digital video. The Festival will further showcase
the PFF Scholarship program through the 14th (A STRANGER OF MINE), 15th
(WATER FLOWER), 16th (FOURTEEN) and 17th (ASYL) Scholarship
films.
In A STRANGER OF MINE, its three episodes as seen from the
viewpoints of five people exposes the complicated nature of human beings. Winner
at the Cannes International Film Festival 2005.
WATER FLOWER effectively
represents the changes within a young girl's mentality without depending solely
on words. The film pulls at the audience's heartstrings and leaves an impression
that a great, new talent has been encountered. It was screened at Berlin International
Film Festival 2006.
In FOURTEEN, 2 PFF 2004 Award winners, HIROSUE
Hiromasa and TAKAHASHI Izumi, collaborate to write, direct and act in this drama
that realistically portrays the conflict between those who are currently experiencing
this most sensitive time in life, and those who experienced it a long time ago.
This award winner at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2007 is one of
the over 20 films that the pair has produced.
Finally in ASYL,
a heart-warming story revolving around a "love hotel" which won its director the
Best First Feature award at Berlin International Film Festival 2008. This short
programme celebrates PIA Film Festival continuing efforts in promoting filmmaking
among young directors in Japan, and hopefully further highlights its achievements
to Singapore and beyond.
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Since
its inception in 1977 to "discover and nurture new talent in filmmaking", its
Award Competition has been designed to discover young artists who dream of becoming
film directors, and has been widely acknowledged as one of the most open of all
competitions in the world's film festival circuit. With initial jury members including
OSHIMA Nagisa and TERAYAMA Shuji, it places no restrictions whatsoever
on the eligibility of its entrants and completely disregards their nationality,
age, or sex; whether the film entered is on film or video; how long or short it
is; or whether it is a drama, a documentary, or animation - Anyone can participate
in this competition.
The PFF Scholarship is a program that started in
1984 to support, nurture, and establish PFF Award winners as filmmakers. With
each PFF Award winner invited to submit a new feature script, every year one is
selected to be produced, financed and released into cinemas. 19 PFF Scholarship
funded works have been made up to now. Together with the PFF Award winners, PFF
Scholarship funded films have taken part in international film festivals a total
of over 300 times since the Berlin International Film Festival in 1982. This year
the 19th PFF Scholarship title was invited to the Berlin International Film Festival
2010.
PIA Film Festival distributes and promotes the PFF Scholarship titles
and PFF Award films throughout Japan. The films are commercially screened at various
cinemas, on television, sent on the international film festival circuit or released
on video or DVD so that it may reach a wider audience. This entire process is
designed to establish a young, talented filmmaker in his/her chosen field.
In
2006, OGIGAMI Naoko was the Festival's guest and YOSHINO'S BARBER SHOP
(13th PFF Scholarship Film) was screened. A film where every young village boy
is forced to have the same ridiculous bowl-shaped haircut. In 2009, the Festival
screened KICHIKU (PFF Award 1997), one of the most horrific student-made
films, which went on to Berlin International Film Festival in 1998.
This
year's selections from PFF
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