Guest Article: Nippon Connection, Midnight Eye, and the Millennial Synergy

By Tom Mes Nippon Connection is twenty years old. A very symbolic age, because in Japan it’s when you’re considered to be an adult. So it’s paradoxically suitable that the festival is marking this milestone by essentially returning to its humble beginnings: in the unprecedented shape of an online film festival, where everything is new, … Continue reading Guest Article: Nippon Connection, Midnight Eye, and the Millennial Synergy

Guest Article: History of Nippon Connection

By Alex Zahlten Nippon Connection has a difficult relationship with anniversaries. During the 10-year anniversary festival in 2010, a volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, led to a gigantic ash cloud and the closure of European airspace, stranding over two dozen Japanese filmmakers in Frankfurt for over a week after the festival had ended. This year … Continue reading Guest Article: History of Nippon Connection

Guest in Focus: Kaori SAKAGAMI

Kaori SAKAGAMI, director of PRISON CIRCLE, born in Osaka in 1965, studied at the University of Pittsburgh. After returning to Japan, she started working as a director for numerous TV documentaries. Since 2001, she has been a Visiting Associate Professor at Hitotsubashi University. Her first feature length documentary LIFERS: REACHING FOR LIFE BEYOND THE WALLS … Continue reading Guest in Focus: Kaori SAKAGAMI

Guest Article: Japanese Films Since 2000

By Mark Schilling The Japanese film industry never seems to change. “Production committees” – consortiums of film studios, TV networks and other media companies – make films based on hit manga, novels and TV series now, just they did in 2000 or 1980. And anime continues to regularly top the local box office, including series … Continue reading Guest Article: Japanese Films Since 2000