To celebrate its new partnership as allied festivals, Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Eigasai, the Japanese Film Festival, present a special one-time screening of Masato Harada’s The Emperor in August on July 8, 7 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Little Theater. The film showing will be followed by the Director’s Talk by film director Harada, who will be in Manila as the guest of honor of this year’s Eigasai. Admission is free.
Director Harada is a legendary and award-winning Japanese film director.
Born on July 3, 1949 in Numazu, Japan, he debuted in 1979 with “Goodbye Flickmania”. His works include films with high entertainment value such as “The Heartbreak Yakuza (1987)”, “Gunhed (1988)” as well as socially conscious films such as “Kamikaze Taxi (1995)”, “Bounce KoGals (1997)”, winners of many film awards, and intensely political drama “Jubaku – Spellbound (1999)”, “The Choice of Hercules (2002)”, and the highly praised, B.O. success “Climber’s High (2008)”.
For his ability to speak and write English, he also works as an English interpreter, and his friendship with Edward Zwick brought him to act as the sly Omura in “The Last Samurai (2003)”.
He received the Special Grand Prize of the Jury at the 35th Montreal World Film Festival in 2012 for his film “Chronicle of My Mother (2012).” His first jidaigeki (samurai period film) “Kakekomi (2015)” was received favorably by international critics and became a box office success.
His internationally acclaimed TV movie “Early Autumn” featured Koji Yakusho who played a father-of-the-bride à la Chishu Ryu in the Ozu films such as “Late Spring” and “An Autumn Afternoon”. In 2015, he was the first Director in Focus of Tokyo International Film Festival’s new section Japan Now.
The “Emperor in August” is an adaptation of Hando Kazutoshi’s non-fiction novel “Nihon no Ichiban Nagai Hi: Ketteiban”. The film reveals the anguish and deliberations of the Japanese who put their lives on the line to end the Pacific War and achieve peace.
In April of 1945, as the Pacific War enters its final phase, Japan’s Prime Minister Suzuki Kantaro (Yamazaki Tsutomu) formed a new cabinet. Anami Korechika (Yakusho Koji), a trusted subject of Emperor Showa (Motoki Masahiro) is appointed Minister of War and makes his case for a final battle on Japanese shores.
The newly forged alliance between Cinemalaya and Eigasai aims to provide both festivals with opportunities for film exchange, help in the promotion of both events and contribute to audience building and film education.
For this year, Eigasai will open on July 7 and will run until August 21, featuring more than 80 screenings at the Shang Cineplex Cinema 2 (July 7-17) in Mandaluyong City and various venues in Davao City and Baguio City, Ayala Center Cebu and UP Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City.
For the 12th Cinemalaya Festival on August 5-14, 2016, the Japan Foundation, Manila will bring two Japanese independent films, “Ken and Kazu” by Hiroshi Shoji and “August in Tokyo” by Ryutaro Nakagawa. These two films will be featured in the Cinemalaya’s Asian section.
Cinemalaya is a yearly film competition and festival organized by the CCP and the Cinemalaya Foundation that aims to encourage the creation of new cinematic works by Filipino filmmakers – works that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.
The Eigasai is the annual Japanese film festival organized by Japan Foundation Manila in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan. It is held every July which is designated as Philippines-Japan Friendship Month.
For more information, please call CCP Media Arts at tel. no. 832-1125 local 1704 and 1705 or visit the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph. For more details on Eigasai, please visit the Japan Foundation, Manila website at www.jfmo.org.ph.
