The Japan Film Festival Los Angeles will hold in-person screenings from Sept. 15 to 17.
For more information, visit http://jffla.org.
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 15, at Musicians Institute, 6752 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
• “For Whom the Flowers Bloom” (誰が為に花は咲く) at 11:30 a.m. Q&A with producer Haruna Yoshikawa.
Tsubaki, a high school senior, is at a point in her life where she needs to think about her future. However, her circumstances are far from ordinary. Four years prior, her father, Hideaki, murdered an elementary school boy, then disappeared and was presumed dead.
One day, there is a report of a man resembling him approaching a child in the park where the incident occurred. The man turns out not to be Hideaki.
Two years later, Tsubaki’s younger brother goes missing. A claim is made on social media: “I have killed the son of the despicable murderer.” The claim is a hoax and her brother is found safe. Yet another report comes in that Hideaki, presumably anxious for his son, has been spotted.
• “Planet of Love II” (愛の地球(ホシ)へ Ⅱ) at 2 p.m. Q&A with director Miki.
“Planet of Love” is said to have been decided to be produced since ancient times. Six months after completion of the first film, a whale appeared when the director was meditating and told him, “I want you to record my voice.” The whale also showed Miki an image of a whale on a large screen, which suggested making the second film about whale songs.
Keeping in mind what Miki sensed during the mediation, he recorded the whale’s voice and began working on the film, which includes interviews with people deeply involved with whales and dolphins, plus a number of messages from dolphins, whales, and unborn children that were received through hypnotherapy and that they hope to convey to us now.
• “No No Girl” at 4 p.m. Q&A with cast and crew.
In the middle of the night, before they are to be sent to a concentration camp, one Japanese American family buries a secret in their backyard garden. 80 years later, a clue is discovered and what begins as a mystery soon turns criminal as a family of different minds try to come together to discover the truth of their past.
Saturday, Sept. 16, at Japan House Salon, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. (Level 5), Los Angeles
Program 1: Short films at 12 p.m.
“Inheritance.” At dawn, Kelsey Akioka hikes out onto the Kalapana lava fields with a camera in hand and 80 pounds of gear on his back. We observe his methodical photography process amid one of nature’s most beautiful and chaotic events. He sells these photos at a makeshift marketplace to apathetic tourists. By the end of the day, he returns home, exhausted and worn, to his son and elderly father. When he learns his friend is moving away from home to pursue a better life for his family, Kelsey begins to question his own choices.
“Stamp Our Story.” The resilience and determination of the Japanese American soldiers of World War II, who were asked to fight for their country despite having their freedom unjustly taken away, embody the best of the American spirit. While remembering their achievements and struggles, this short documentary tells the extraordinary story of how, after 15 years, a grassroots movement led by three elderly Nisei women overcame all odds to successfully campaign for a Go For Broke stamp.
“Kanashimi.” Haunted by grief, the loss of his father and the mounting pressure of becoming a father himself, Adam finds a mysterious baseball glove on the beach. In attempting to track down the owner, he learns of his unlikely connection to a stranger across the world in Japan, a stranger he has more in common with than he ever realized.
“Tatara.” Will left to Japan to work at tatara, a traditional Japanese furnace. His dad, David, is visiting him after 10 years. As David comes to understand Will’s ideas on life, their relationship shifts toward something good.
Program 2: “Tuna Girl” and Q&A with director Mana Yasuda. A cute college girl (Fuka Koshiba) joins a research camp for tuna farming. She faces the difficulties of actual farming, but eventually grows up. The script is based on a research project, “Full-cycle Aquaculture of Pacific Bluefin Tuna,” by Kindai University. A scientific comedy-drama full of laughter and tears.
Sunday, Sept. 17, at Japan House Salon
Program 1: “Kamaishi Ramen Story” (釜石ラーメン物語) at 12 p.m. Q&A with director Akiyoshi Imazeki, actor Hako Oshima and more.
Masami ran away from home three years ago and lost contact with her family, who ran a ramen shop in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture. She suddenly returns and finds that in place of her mother, Masae, who went missing in the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake, her father, Tsuyoshi, has taken over the store. When he falls ill, Masami and her sister begin their struggle to create ramen that tastes just like their mother’s.
Program 2: Short Films and Q&A with directors and cast at 5 p.m.
“Our Late Father.” After Jin meets not only his father but also unknown family members for the first time, everything becomes confused and chaotic.
“Canary.” In a harrowing post-apocalyptic world where giant spider-like creatures have overwhelmed much of the human population, four high-school boys find themselves huddled in a secluded cabin nestled in the woods. It was their spring break and now, suddenly, it is the end of days.
“Nicole and Sam.” A happy couple still require some effort to keep their relationship happy and glorious.
“Yae: Blind Samurai Woman.” In the mountains of the Edo period Japan, when a blind woman’s samurai father is killed by a young samurai avenging his own father’s death, she agrees to be escorted to the nearest village, but she’s not as helpless as she appears.