Nippon Connection (www.nipponconnection.com) as previously noted is one of my favorite film festivals. It’s a rush of Japanese cinema and culture pack into 5 memorable days and nights held annually in Frankfurt, Germany. This years lineup features 150 highlights including features and shorts, with an immersive full slate of cultural events. Of note from those who were at Fantastic Fest last year are several Pink film screening in the retro part of the festival, including: Blue Film Woman, Gushing Prayer and S&M Hunter. Other notable newly announced titles include: Is Not No Tomorrows, Love Exposure (winner at the recent Berlin International Film Festival) and Detroit Metal City (which bowed last year at Midnight Madness).
Full press release follows below… (Translated via Google into English). For those consider traveling please note that several airlines, including American Airlines are running amazing deals for round trip airfare through sites like Orbitz and Expedia.
Nippon Connection
Japanese Film Festival
15. – 19 April 2009
Frankfurt am Main
www.nipponconnection.comNippon Connection Festival – The Program
After months of viewing marathons, the Nippon Connection Festival Crew again an exquisite program. From 15 to 19 April we will present in Frankfurt around 150 Highlights of the current Japanese film, including numerous premieres.
Will open the festival with the already on the Cannes Film Festival celebrated film TOKYO SONATA by Kiyoshi KUROSAWA the creeping disintegration of a family show. A great film event is the bildgewaltige, 4 hours monumental work of LOVE EXPOSURE Enfant Terrible-director Sion Sono, with Caligari and the FIPRESCI Prize. The drama shows the love story of a hungry young people live in sin and passion involved. The exceptional talent will Kazuyoshi KUMAKIRI at Nippon Connection when Germany premiere his new film NON-KO imagine. With tension is also expected NightMare DETECTIVE 2, from cult director Shinya TSUKAMOTO. The latest film by director “veteran” KORE-EDA Hirokazu STILL WALKING deals sensitively with the issue of death and has many awards internationally. Lovers of film will be joyful in the manga adaptation of DETROIT METAL CITY Toshi enjoying LEE: A musician is unwilling from his management to Glamrockstar made and will be forced up as a musician of Kiss to schminken. In the elaborate comic adaptation 20TH CENTURY BOYS success of director Yukihiko TSUTSUMI humanity is threatened by destruction. Course may also not be missing Japanese animes. We show among other things, the two animation compilations GENIUS PARTY and GENIUS PARTY BEYOND from the creative forge Studio 4 ° C, with works like “Tekkon Kinkreet” and “Mind Game” has become available. Another treat for lovers of the extraordinary animated film is by Yoshiki HELLS YAMAKAWA, with his skurilen characters and funky soundtrack to the potential cult film.
For the fourth time at the Festival of the Audience Award Nippon Cinema Award in the amount of 2,000 euros awarded to this year, the Metzler Bank donates. After the festival in Frankfurt is a part of the digital program as Nippon Connection Film Festival on Tour around the World. The plan will include demonstrations in Munich, New York, Paris and Barcelona.
The Nippon retro this year is dedicated to the Pink Film, a special genre of Japanese erotic film in which almost all of today’s well-known directors have worked in Japan. The Pink Film directors gave an expression of freedom, between the experimental aesthetics, political radicalism and sheer Sexploitation fluctuated. We show a range of films from the 1960s until today.
But Nippon Connection not only offers the latest news from the Japanese filmmaking. The CIP Nippon Culture invites, Japanese culture, with all their senses to experience. With the emphasis on “Sounds” kidnapped Nippon Culture visitors this year in the sound worlds of Japan. Atmospheric sound installations, radio plays, entertaining and energetic Taiko rhythms on acoustic rain (re-) discoveries at. Also explore concert with a sound and a Japanese silent film narrators (Benshi), of its own trash live shorts commented, the quality of the interplay of images and acoustic canvas space.
At Nippon Connection is lively cultural exchanges varied experience. Interactive live circuits to filmmakers and the nightlife in Tokyo to the festival center will be a virtual meeting place. With the revival of the cult show Late Lounge: Home Theater Reloaded logs Roberto Cappelluti at Nippon Connection extremely vital back. Together with the author and Splatter Film director Jörg Buttgereit he is a Japanese trash cinema pearl mercilessly in front of an audience live apart. In addition, Nippon Culture numerous opportunities to try out as a visitor and creatively involved from the Butoh dance workshop with the internationally renowned Butoh dancer Yuko Kaseki about the exclusive ceremony scent to the sushi cooking class. And the traditional event of the afternoon at the University of Frankfurt Japanology moves this year around the mobile entertainment culture of Japan. Rounding out the cultural program of the exhibition of contemporary video art Japanese body. space. time. and a video-dance performance in the gallery in the station house Mousonturm artists, as well as through lectures, filmmaker interviews, karaoke, tea lounge, bar noodle soups and more.
The legendary festival parties may again be celebrated extensively. The celebrity duo Roberto Cappelluti (Late Lounge, Street Stars) and Jörg Buttgereit (writer, director) dared to the platter and show Wednesday, 15.4., At the opening lounge what they can. On Friday, 17.4., The Japanese pop Queen KUMISOLO Cheap Paris from the audience at a live concert with sugar-sweet sounds enchant. And on Saturday, 18.4., Then bring to the festival party again Hito DJs Yogi and the dance floor to the boil.
The scope of the program may be fooled. Nippon Connection is still in voluntary work by the association Nippon Connection. The team around 30köpfige organization, from first-time students up to the aircraft engineer who has everything to offer you a unique festival experience.
Venues:
Student house on the campus Bockenheim (Festival Center), Jügelstr. 1
Cinema Orfeos Erben, Hamburger Allee 45
Kino im Deutschen Filmmuseum, Schaumainkai 41
Galerie Station im Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Waldschmidtstr. 4Ticket sales from the 1.4.:
www.nipponconnection.com
Landkarten Schwarz, Am Markt 12 seeds
Uni-Shop Gothe, Bockenheimer Landstrasse 133 (New Cafeteria, Campus Bockenheim)
Campus shop of the Goethe University, Grüneburgplatz 1 (Lecture Hall Center, West Campus)The program
NIPPON NIPPON CINEMA & DIGITAL
20th Century Boys (Niju SEIKI shonen), R: Yukihiko TSUTSUMI, J 2008
www.20thboys.comA Normal Life, Please (Jikken Ningyo dami ozuma), R: Tokachi TSUCHIYA, J 2008
futunoshigoto.blog36.fc2.comABC Short Films, R: Kazuyuki Izutsu, Kazuki Omori, Junji Sakamoto, Sang Il LEE, Yoichi SAI, J 2008
Is not No Tomorrows (Oretachi ni asu wa naissu), R: Yuki TANADA, J 2008
oreasu.comAll Around Us (Gururi no koto), R: Ryosuke HASHIGUCHI, J 2008
www.gururinokoto.jpSoup & Entertainment Special Live Performance
www.animationsoup.comBenshi Brilliance! Hirono YAMADA’s Benshi of Heaven and Hirono YAMADA
www.katsuben.netCatman, R: Ryosuke AOIKE (anime shorts)
www.aoike.caDetroit Metal City, R: Toshio LEE, J 2008
www.go-to-dmc.jpdigista vol. VII, J 2008 (shorts)
www.nhk.or.jp/digistaThe First Seven Days (SAISHO no nanokakan), R: Hisashi SAITO, J 2008
Genius Party Beyond, R: Masahiro MAEDA, Koji Morimoto, Kazuto Nakazawa, Shinya Ohira, Tatsuyuki TANAKA, J 2008
www.genius-party.jp/beyondGenius Party, R: Atsuko Fukushima, Shoji KAWAMORI, Shinji Kimura, Yoji Fukuyama, Hideki FUTAMURA, YUASA Masaaki, Shinichiro WATANABE, J 2007
www.genius-party.jp/genius01Goodbye (Hebano), R: Bunyo KIMURA, J 2008
teamjudas.lomo.jpGS Wonderland, R: Ryuichi Honda, J 2008
www.gs-w.jpHellsberg, R: Yoshinobu YAMAKAWA, J 2008, English subtitles
www.mv.avex.jp/hellsangelsKanna’s Big Success! (Daiseiko Kanna-san desu!), R: Koichi INOUE, J 2008
http://www.kannasan.com/The Kiss (Seppun), R: Kunitoshi MANDA, J 2008
www.seppun-movie.comKoji MAEDA Special (shorts)
www.maeda-kouji.netKoo-Ki Special (promotional clips)
www.koo-ki.co.jp/Locked Out, R: Yasunobu TAKAHASHI, J 2008
http://ontheroadfilms.comLove Exposure (Ai no mukidashi), R: Sion SONO, J 2008
www.ai-muki.comMental (Seishin), R: Kazuhiro SODA, J / USA 2008
www.laboratoryx.us/mentalmime-mime, R: Yukiko SODE, J 2007
www.pia.co.jp/pffMusabi Student Film Explosion (shorts)
Parting Present (Omiyage / Mibojin no mofuku-hoshii no …), R: Mamoru WATANABE, J 2008
Mononoke (Episode 10-12 “Bakeneko”), R: Kenji NAKAMURA, J 2007
www.mononoke-anime.comNaked of Defenses (Mubobi), R: Masahide ICHII, J 2007
www.pia.co.jp/pffNightmare Detective 2 (Akumu tantei 2), R: Shinya TSUKAMOTO, J 2008
www.akumu-tantei.comNon-Ko (Nonko 36 sai kaji tetsudai), R: Kazuyoshi KUMAKIRI, J 2008
www.nonko36.jpOpen Art Special: Hiroyuki NAKANO
www.open-art.tvHamlet Osaka (Osaka hamuretto), R: Fujiro MITSUISHI, J 2008
www.osaka-hamlet.jpPeaches! (Momo matsuri) (Short Films)
Punch the Blue Sky (Aozora ponchi), R: Go Shibata, J 2008
aopon.jpP**** Soup (Neko ramen Taisho), R: Minoru KAWASAKI, J 2008
www.neko-rahmen.com/movie.htmlSerial Dad (Komori seikatsu Kojo club), R: Ikki KATASHIMA, J 2008
www.komoriclub.comStill Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo), R: Hirokazu KORE-EDA, J 2008
www.aruitemo.comTalk, Talk, Talk (Shaberedomo shaberedomo), R: Hideyuki HIRAYAMA, J 2007
www.shaberedomo.comTokyo Zokei University Special (shorts)
Tokyo Sonata, R: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan / Netherlands / Hong Kong 2008
www.tokyosonatamovie.comThe Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei), R: Yoji Yamada, J 2002
www.shochiku.co.jp/movie/seibei/The Two in Tracksuits (Jaji no futari), R: Yoshihiro NAKAMURA, J 2008
www.ja-zi2.jpVacation (Kyuka), R: Hajime KADOI, J 2008
http://www.eigakyuka.comYariman (Bara / Ya.ri.ma.n.), R: Sakamoto Rei
Yubari Fantastic Film Festival Special
http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.phpNIPPON RETRO
Blue Film Woman (Buru firumu no onna, dir.), R: Kan Mukai, J 1969
Raigyo, R: Takahisa Zeze, J 1997
Gushing Prayer (Funshutsu kigan – 15sai no baishunfu), R: Masao ADACHI, J 1971
Secret Hot Spring Resort: Starfish at Night (Maruhi yu no machi: yoru no hitode), R: Mamoru WATANABE, J 1970
Abnormal Family: Older Brother’s Bride, R: Masayuki SUO, J 1984
S & M Hunter (Jigoku no ropa 2: Kinbaku SM 18-sai), R: Shuji Kataoka, J 1989
No Love Juice: Rustling In The Bed (Fuwa-fuwa to Beddoe no ue de), R: Kosuke TAKEDA, J 1999
Tears of ecstasy, R: Hiroyuki OKI, J 1995
NIPPON CULTURE
Opening with Roberto Cappelluti Lounge (Frankfurt) and Jörg Buttgereit (Berlin)
Nippon on Stage Concert with KUMISOLO – The Japanese pop queen Cheap!
Festival Party with Hito (Berlin) & Yogi (Tokyo / Frankfurt)
Virtual Bar
Sound spaces. Shinjuku-Hörspiel-Special (Amaterasu IN SHINJUKU by Malte Jaspersen / Lizy IN SHINJUKU Jörg Buttgereit)
Klang concert with silent film (Kompostion: HORI Tetsuya; Film: Yukihiro IKUTANI)
Late Lounge: Home Theater Reloaded (with Roberto Cappelluti and Jörg Buttgereit)
Koto and Shakuhachi Concert (Koto: Miyoko Oshima, shakuhachi: Tony Clark)
Tea Ceremony
Ko-Do, the Way of the fragrance. Japanese fragrance ceremony
Taiko Workshop (with Liliana Bulic Kony and Graner)
Butoh Dance Workshop (with Yuko Kaseki)
Sushi cooking class
Film Breakfast
Sake workshop and Sakelounge
Introduction to the Japanese onomatopoeia
J Mobile – Mobile entertainment culture. Japanology Lecture Series of the University of Frankfurt
Presentation by Marco Pellittieri “Some Notes on Japanese National Identity in Recent Anime”
Presentation by Sharon Kinsella “Shojo Kakumei: Men Imagining a Girl Revolution”
Panel discussion “What’s Up With The Women?”
Filmmaker Talks
climate elements: Süssbittere recipes (dance performance based on the novel “Kitchen” by Banana Yoshimoto)
body. space. time. – Japanese video-art exhibition and dance-video performance (Curated by Masayo KAJIMURA and Saskia Wendland)
Photo exhibition “Tokyo Total” (Photos: Laura J Gerlach, Curator: Dagmar furrier)
Photo installation “Cosplay: Kawaii, Cool and Out of the Ordinary?” of Jiré E Gözen
Stone Lanterns Exhibition
Soba-ya noodle soup bar
Karaoke
Tea Lounge
Sound Installation
Shiatsu Massage
Video Game Hell
Japanese Cinema
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow
