OVER THE span of two decades, Eiga Sai — the film festival dedicated to promoting Japanese films to the Filipino populace — has presented more than 100 films. It will now add 20 more to the list as it celebrates its 20th year from July 7-16 at the Shangri-La Plaza Cinema 2.

Below is the list of films that will be shown on this special edition of the film festival — a healthy combination of contemporary and older Japanese films (live-action and animation) — which will be shown over its 10-day run:

¥ Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016), written and directed by Ryota Nakano. It tells the story of a terminally ill matriarch who is determined to reconcile with her estranged family in the last moments of her life.

The film has won numerous awards in Japan including the Japan Movie Critics Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Rie Miyazawa and Best Supporting Actress for Hana Sugisaki.

Mr. Nakano will be in the country for a director’s talk scheduled on July 8.

¥ The Sting of Death (1990), directed by Kohei Oguri. This period drama set in the 1950s tells the story of a couple weathering the storms of their marriage after the husband confesses to having an affair.

The film has won the FIPRESCI Grand Prize of the Jury award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

¥ Memories of You (1988), directed by Yoshiro Kojima. It tells the story of a university student meeting by chance the girl he used to tutor. The young girl only has six months to live but she is determined to live on and survive her illness to be with the university student.

¥ Departures (2008), directed by Yojiro Takata. It follows the story of a failed young cellist who decides to work as a traditional mortician. Despite crushing social prejudice, he soon learns the dignity of his new work.

The film won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 2008 Academy Awards as well as Audience Awards at the 2008 Hawaii International Film Festival and 2008 Golden Rooster Awards.

¥ Tsukiji Wonderland (2016), directed by Naotaro Endo. A documentary about the famed Japanese fish market, it was filmed over 16 months and shows the daily hustle of the 80-year-old market — including areas which haven’t been seen on film before — as it prepares to move to its new location in Toyosu.

¥ In This Corner of the World (2016), directed by Sunao Katabuchi. An animated film adaptation of the manga of the same name, it follows a feisty housewife as she tries to survive and live a normal life in war-torn Japan.

¥ The Anthem of the Heart (2015), directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. An animated film about a girl who loses her voice and finds comfort and happiness in music and friendship.

¥ Chihayafuru Parts 1 and 2 (2016), directed by Nori Koizumi. The live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name which tells the coming-of-age story of friends who are brought together by the Japanese traditional card game, Karuta.

¥ Creepy (2016), directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It follows a former detective trying to figure the erratic behavior of his new neighbor while his old colleagues ask for his help in reopening a case about a missing family.

¥ What a Wonderful Family (2016), directed by Yoji Yamada. A heart-warming comedy about a family whose parents suddenly decide to end their 50-year marriage.

¥ The Magnificent Nine (2016), directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. A film adaptation of a novel by Michifumi Isoda which was based on a true story set in the Edo period (1603-1868). It follows the tale of nine merchants using their wits and wealth to outsmart feudal lords and save their towns from poverty.

¥ The Mohican Comes Home (2016), directed by Shuichi Okita. The film follows the homecoming of a Mohawk-wearing man whose life is rocked by the knowledge that his father is dying.

¥ Sweet Bean (2015), directed by Naomi Kawase. The film adaptation of a novel by Dorian Sukegawa about a dorayaki (red bean pancake) shop owner who meets an old woman who shares her dorayaki recipe but then an unkind rumor causes the old woman to distance herself from the shop owner

The film has won in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

¥ The Long Excuse (2016), directed by Miwa Nishikawa. The film an adulterous celebrity who takes on the role of the grieving husband after his wife dies in a bus accident. He then meets another grieving husband and offers to take care of his children.

¥ Poolside Man (2016), directed by Hirobumi Watanabe. The film tells the story of a lonely swimming pool lifeguard who accompanies his friend to a village plagued by an epidemic.

¥ If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016), directed by Akira Nagai. The film adaptation of an online novel of the same name about a postman diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor who strikes a deal with the devil to prolong his life by making things — like mobile phones — disappear from the world.

¥ Bakuman (2015), directed by Hitoshi One. A live-action adaptation of a manga of the same name which follows two unlikely friends as they journey towards being top manga creators. The film highlights the highs and lows of the Japanese comic industry.

¥ Sadako Vs Kayako (2016), directed by Koji Shiraishi. The film pits two of the most iconic characters in the Japanese horror genre, Sadako from The Ring and Kayako from Ju-on: The Grudge, in an Alien vs. Predator-style movie. The film, shot in a faux-documentary style, follows a student who, having watched the cursed Sadako film now has two days left to live, decides to pit her against Kayako, another ghost in a haunted house.

¥ Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections is an omnibus film produced by the Japan Foundation and the Tokyo International Film Festival, which brings together three acclaimed Asian directors who each created a segment with the theme “Living in Asia.”

The first film, SHINIUMA Dead Horse, directed by Filipino director Brillante Mendoza, is about a Filipino illegal immigrant in Japan who is deported back to the Philippines but upon his return, realizes he has no home to come back to anymore.

The second film, Pigeon, by Yukisada Isao, follows an elderly Japanese man, estranged from his son, who decides to live in Malaysia where he forms a new bond with his caretaker.

The third film, Beyond the Bridge, directed by Sotho Kulikar, is set on the actual Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge in Phnom Penh and tells the love story between a Japanese architect and a Cambodian woman who he ends up leaving behind.

Eiga Sai runs from July 7-16 at the Cinema 2 of Shangri-La Cineplex in Mandaluyong City. Each screening costs P100 except for July 14 when the festival will be screening Tagalized versions of Sadako vs Kayako, If Cats Disappeared from the World, and Bakuman for free.

For more information and screening schedules, call 370-2597 or visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficial. — Zsarlene B. Chua

–

SCENES from The Sting of Death (above), and (top to bottom) The Magnificent Nine, The Mohican Comes Home, and Sweet Bean

BAKUMAN and SADAKO VS KAYAKO

SCENES FROM If Cats Disappeared from the World (below), and (clockwise) Creepy, Her Love Boils Bathwater, In This Corner of the World, and What a Wonderful Family

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR