About the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme

Since 2004, the Japan Foundation, London has been organising an annual Japanese film programme in close partnership with distinguished film venues and programme advisors in the UK. Each year, from recently released contemporary films to classics and anime, the Japanese films which we believe are worth showing but do not necessarily have an opportunity to be screened in this country are curated under a carefully chosen theme to highlight trends in Japanese cinema and showcase the versatility and uniqueness displayed by its filmmakers.

 

Examples of programmes which have toured previously:

Comic Proportions: Japanese films adapted from Manga (2006)

A Life More Ordinary: A portrait of contemporary Japanese people on film (2008)

Reality Fiction: Japanese films inspired by actual events (2009)

Girls on Film: Females in contemporary Japanese cinema (2010)

Back to the Future: Japanese cinema since the mid-90s (2011)

Whose Film Is It Anyway? Contemporary Japanese Auteurs (2012)

Once Upon a Time in Japan: Reinventing the Past Through the Eyes of Japanese Contemporary Filmmakers (2013)

East Side Stories: Japanese Cinema Depicting the Lives of Youth (2014)

It Only Happens in the Movies? Japanese Cinema and Encounters (2015)

Ikiru: The Highs and Lows of Life in Japanese Cinema (2016)

Odd Obsessions: Desires, Hopes and Impulses in Japanese Cinema (2017)

(Un)true Colours: Secrets and Lies in Japanese Cinema (2018)

People Still Call It Love: Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema (2019)

Happiness is A State of Mind: Joy and Despair in Japanese Cinema (2020)

This Is My Place: Carving out a sense of existence and belonging in Japanese Cinema (2021)

What Lies Beneath: The Intricate Representations of a ‘Dark Mind’ in Japanese Cinema (2022)

Always Evolving: Japanese Cinema Then, Now, and for the Future (2023)

Unforgettable: Memories, Times and Reflections in Japanese Cinema (2024)

 

For more information, please see our Archive page.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is one of only a few, and arguably the largest, contemporary Japanese film programmes which tour beyond London to venues across the UK, presenting the best selection of Japanese cinema to regional audiences.

If you represent an independent cinema and are interested in hosting the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme or if you would like to see the programme at a venue in your region in the future, please contact: [email protected]

 

Thanks to UK venues and loyal audiences, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2004 and we strive to ensure that it continues to deliver a stimulating and inspiring programme whilst bringing some of the finest and most exciting Japanese cinema to the UK.