Kore-eda Hirokazu believes Japanese cinema is enjoying a genuine global moment. Speaking at a packed Kering Women in Motion talk event at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, the Shoplifters director said international festival audiences are now saying something they were not saying a decade ago: Japanese films are really interesting right now.
Kore-eda Hirokazu (Credits: Variety)
The event, an allied programme of the Tokyo International Film Festival, brought together leading figures from Japanese film, including actor Ninomiya Kazunari, Academy figure Amy Homma and Kokuho producer Murata Chieko, for a conversation about where Japanese cinema goes next.
Japanese Cinema Global Moment Praised by Kore-eda
Kore-eda credited a generation of younger directors for building the momentum. He pointed to filmmakers such as Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Fukada Koji, and to directors in their 20s and 30s who have taken their work overseas, building recognition film by film.
Through that accumulated effort, he argued, attention on Japanese films has steadily increased. The challenge now, in his view, is passing that momentum on — for the older generation to nurture the next wave, and for audiences to keep discovering work beyond the biggest festival hits.
What Kering Women in Motion Tokyo Means for Film Fans
The Tokyo event itself reflects how central Japanese cinema has become to the international festival calendar. A packed crowd at one of the city’s major cinema complexes, a programme tied to the Tokyo International Film Festival, and a stage shared by directors, producers and Academy figures all point to an industry in confident mood.
For film fans, the message was encouraging: the global interest in Japanese cinema is not a passing trend but the result of years of work. If Kore-eda is right, the next generation of Japanese filmmakers will arrive at festivals already carrying an audience with them — and the films that follow could be even more interesting than the ones that built the moment.
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Source: Variety — read the full story there.
