Kamome Diner (かもめ食堂/Ruokalla Lokki)
Directed by Naoko Ogigami, Released in 2006, 102 mins. Review by Susan Meehan.
Gaea Girls Film Screening and Q&A
Gaea Girls is a film about courage, transformation and dreams in the extraordinary world of Japanese women’s wrestling or joshi puroresu.
Teacher and Three Children (石内尋常高等小学校 花は散れども)
Directed by Shindo Kaneto (新藤兼人). 2008, 118 minutes. Review by Susan Meehan.
Nonko (ノン子36歳 – 家事手伝い)
Directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi (熊切和嘉). 2008, 106 minutes. Review by Susan Meehan.
Kirschblueten-Hanami (Cherry Blossoms: Hanami)
Directed and written by Doris Doerrie, 2008, 127 minutes Review by Susan Meehan
Okuribito
Directed by Yōjirō Takita Okuribito (Departures), winner of the 2009 Oscar for “Best Foreign Language Film,” opens with a mesmerising winter scene in the photogenic Shōnai area of Yamagata Prefecture and doesn’t fail to continue impressing, amusing and tugging at the heart strings. Review by Susan Meehan
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Directed by Jonathan Man, Performed at the Southwark Playhouse, 19 February 2009 Review by Susan Meehan
Cape No. 7
Directed by Wei Te-Sheng The story features Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule, Japan’s surrender in World War II in 1945, a Japanese school teacher’s love for a Taiwanese girl, and his departure from Taiwan. Review by Fumiko Halloran
Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers
Directed by Satoshi Miki Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers is an off-beat, urbane comic gem, about loneliness, normality, friendship, and spies, with a magnificent, low-key performance by Juri Ueno, which makes that all somehow work wonderfully. Review by Simon Cotterill