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Introducing Our New Team Member: Yukako
Welcome, Yukako! We are excited to welcome Yukako Wrenn to the CJFC team! Yukako has been a key contributor as our festival photographer, capturing special moments…
Closing Presentation
Yesterday, we had another successful in-theater screening at the MUSIC BOX THEATER in Chicago, featuring our festival closing film Angry Son . Despite the heavy rain in…
Vote Now for the Audience Award: Celebrating the Best in Cinema!
Attention our wonderful audience! It's that time of year again when we invite you to participate in the CJFC audience award. The film that receives the most votes…
Directors’ Comments
As the film festival commences, the Directors of the 2023 official selection have sent heartfelt messages To all the cherished audiences. These messages carry the essence of the…
Opening Night!
Last night, we had a successful in-theater screening at the MUSIC BOX THEATER in Chicago, featuring the opening film Hoarder on the Border . It was well-received,…
Director Spotlight #9: “Twilight Cinema Blues”
Dir. JOJO Hideo (Twilight Cinema Blues) Born in 975 in Hachioji City, Tokyo. Jojo graduated from Musashino Art University and accumulated a career…
Director Spotlight #10: “Underdogs”
Dir. KUMETA Tsuyoshi (Underdogs) Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1969. Graduated from the Department of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology at…
Director Spotlight #8: “Toward Zero”
Dir. ITO Takashi (Toward Zero) ITO was born in Fukuoka in 1956. While studying in university, his experimental film SPACY(1981), premiered at MATSUMOTO…
Director Spotlight #7: “Resonance”
Dir. TANAKA Toshinori (Resonance) Born in 1981 in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan, Tanaka is a Filmmaker, a Lecturer at Fukuyama University, and the…
Director Spotlight #5: “I Quit Being “Friends””
Dir. IMAMURA Ayako (I Quit Being “Friends”) From Nagoya／President of Studio AYA Graduated from Aichi Education University, Faculty of Education／Studied film…
Director Spotlight #6: “NOT BEER”
Dir. NAKAGAWA Hirotaka (NOT BEER) Hirotaka Nakagawa was born in Aichi Prefecture and studied film production at university in Japan. He has worked…
Director Spotlight #3: “Cafune”
Dir. KINEMURA Haruki (New Director) (Cafune) Born in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in 2001, Japan. After enrolling in Osaka University…
Director Spotlight #4: “Hoarder on the Border”
Dir. KAYANO Hirotaka (Hoarder on the Border) Kayano graduated from the Department of Image Design, Faculty of Arts and Engineering…
Director Spotlight #2: “Backlight”
Dir. SUDO Ren (New Director) (Backlight) Born in Tokyo in 1996. While studying law at Keio University, he began working as a…
Director Spotlight #1: “Angry Son”
Dir. IIZUKA Kasho (Angry Son) Born in 1990 in Gunma Prefecture. He studied under film director NEGISHI Yoshitaro and screenwriter Masato Kato while…
Early Bird Passes are now available! (until June 15th!)
Early Bird Passes are now available! All-Access Pass (provides access to all 8 films for the duration of the festival): $23 3 Virtual Ticket Bundle…
Director’s Comment: The Takatsu River
Dir. NISHIKORI Yoshinari 錦織良成監督
Director’s Comment: The World of You
Dir. SHIOTA Akihiko 塩田明彦監督
Director and Guests’ Comments: Ainu - Indigenous People of Japan
Dir. MIZOGUCHI Naomi 溝口尚美監督
Director’s Comment: Actress Montage
Dir. MINAKUCHI Monzo 水口紋蔵監督
Opening Night!
Last night, CJFC had the very first in-theater screening at the Logan Theatre in Chicago with the opening night film, Japanese Style . Thank you so much…
Director Spotlight #13:
Dir. SHIOTA Akihiko (The World of You) Born in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture in 1961, Shiota has been a regular participant in the…
Director Spotlight #11:
Dir. SATO Yoshinori (Shinjuku Tiger) Yoshinori Sato was born in Aichi, Japan on February 1975. After graduating high school, he went to the…
Director Spotlight #12:
Dir. NISHIKORI Yoshinari (The Takatsu River) Film director and screenwriter. Born in January 1962 in Izumo, the birthplace of Kabuki, Sake and Sumo…
News - Chicago Japan Film Collective
Izumo, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
Meet Director UMEZAKI Yo
Umezaki joined TV Tokyo in 1989. After working as a news and sports reporter, directed a number of nature documentaries on such places as the Himalayas and a…
Meet Director TANAKA Daiki
Born in Tokyo in 1994, freelance film director, Tanaka, is a graduate of Nihon University College of Art's film directing course. Tanaka’s genre-defying thesis film, Filament, won awards…
Meet Director UENISHI Yudai
Born in Osaka in 1964, actor, scriptwriter, film director, and president of 10ANTS, Uenishi has been active mainly on the stage in the Kansai region since the establishment…
Meet Director TSUTSUMI Yukihiko
Yukihiko Tsutsumi born in 1955 is one of the most successful film directors in the Japanese film industry. His 40-year career started as a director of TV programs,…
Meet Director ABERA Hidenobu
Japanese actor and film director, was born in BABEL LABEL, New York, USA and raised in Osaka, Japan. Abera directed, wrote, and starred in "A Naked Boy Eager…
Meet Director Haris M Sheikh
Born in Tokyo in 1994 to a Japanese mother and a Pakistani father, Haris M. Sheikh completed the New Cinema Workshop Creator Course at Chuo University where he…
Meet Director Koji Uehara
Unbound by genre or convention, Uehara is actively involved in both mainstream and underground music, primarily in the Kansai area. He is the vocalist of a rock…
Meet Director HASEGAWA Tomofumi
Since 1990, Hasegaw has been active as a stage director and also worked as a designer on animated TV series such as "Activ Raid," "Hand Red," and "Slave…
Meet Director MIZOGUCHI Naomi
After working at a film production company in Japan, Mizoguchi went freelance in 1995, and has since created various films, including documentaries for TV, promotional videos, and short…
Meet Director MINAKUCHI Monzo
Born in Tokyo on July 19, 1997, MINAKUCHI Monzo graduated from Musashino Art University. His films and music videos have screened widely and have received awards at various…
Early Bird Passes are now available!
Early Bird Passes are now available! All-Access Pass (provides access to all 11 films for the duration of the festival): $23 5 Virtual Ticket Bundle…