The Victoria Film Festival is back with an epic 31st edition! This year they have a diverse lineup of Japanese films and stories from the Japanese Canadian Diaspora, featuring the sleeper indie hit A Samurai in Time; the Cannes-winning Grand Tour; and thought-provoking documentaries, including Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama, The Chef and the Daruma, and Dust to Dust.
All films are screening in-person at various venues across Victoria, British Columbia.
A Samurai in Time
Directed by YASUDA Jun’ichi • February 12
Japan • 2023 • Comedy / Sci-Fi • 131min
In late Edo-period Japan, two samurai engage in a fierce duel. When a bolt of lightning strikes, it hurls Kosaka (Makiya Yamaguchi) through time, waking him in present-day Japan. Disoriented, he finds himself on the set of a modern jidaigeki (period film) TV series, surrounded by people in both period costumes and contemporary attire, armed with modern gadgets. Mistaken for an extra by Yuko (Yuno Sakura), a driven assistant director, Kosaka’s exceptional swordsmanship leads to an unexpected role as kirareyaku—the actor hired to dramatically die on screen.
A Samurai in Time blends humor with heart, presenting an ironically hilarious premise: a noble samurai, centuries removed from his time, flourishing as a stuntman in a world he can barely comprehend. But beyond the laughs, the film poignantly explores themes of change, adaptation, and the passage of time.
Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama
Directed by Cindy Mochizuki • February 8
Canada • 2024 • Documentary • 71min
Cindy Mochizuki’s film paints a riveting portrait of the Japanese-Canadian photographer’s life through an eclectic blend of archival footage, animation, illustrations, voice-overs, and interviews. The film deftly showcases how Wakayama, fueled by his burgeoning passion for activism, traded Canada’s calm for the tumultuous American South in the 1960s to join the fight for equality.
As a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Wakayama witnessed history unfold, from protests to pivotal victories. Amidst this cauldron of change, he discovered an unlikely passion – photography. The film showcases how Wakayama preserved the legacy of the Powell Street Festival and Vancouver’s forgotten Japanese neighborhoods through his photographs, revealing the resilience and spirit of a people displaced by war and time. His work serves as a testament to the power of art to heal, educate, and inspire, and the film leaves an indelible mark on the audience’s understanding of community and belonging..
The Chef and the Daruma
Directed by Mads K. Baekkevold • February 16
Canada • 2024 • Documentary • 90min
When Hidekazu Tojo opened his eponymous restaurant in Vancouver in 1988, he triggered a transformation in North America’s food culture, popularizing sushi with his infamous California roll. His hospitality blended culinary cultures that welcomed celebrities and locals alike. Still working and innovating in his 70’s, Tojo reflects on his life and the pivotal moments from his childhood days in Kagoshima, Japan to Osaka’s top restaurants and eventual immigration to Canada in 1971.
Brilliantly framing this biography around the Japanese daruma, director Mads Baekkevold uses the red doll’s role as a talisman for perseverance and good luck as Tojo explains how it embodies the pursuit of one’s goals. Moving between mouth-watering dishes and breathtaking landscapes, the chef’s journey takes him back to his motherland and explores his relationship with two countries and the adversities Japanese Canadians have faced. With wisdom and grace, this loving tribute highlights a man who has brought worlds together through a shared love of food..
Dust to Dust
Directed by SEKINE Kosai • February 12
Japan • 2024 • Documentary • 87min
Where do old clothes go to die? For Yuima Nakazato, one of Japan’s leading haute couture designers, the question is at the heart of the future of fashion and the health of the planet. In this eye-opening documentary, director Kosai Sekine follows the quiet-spoken designer in his late thirties, in his ponytail and halting English, as he gets on a plane, not to Milan or Paris, but Nairobi. Kenya is one of the African countries where much of the world’s used clothing is dumped, most of it ending in landfills or open-air burn pits. According to the UN, the clothing industry is second only to the oil industry in its ecological impact.
We follow Nakazato as he wanders through the massive Gikomba Market where used clothes are sold by the hundreds of kilos, and northern Kenya, where former grazing pastures have turned to deserts. With eight weeks to go before presenting at the Paris Haute Couture show, the designer begins avidly looking for solutions, drawing on cutting edge new technology, including synthetic proteins inspired by spider webs, to solve the problems old technology has created. As the clock ticks down toward the Paris show, Nakazato works to the point of exhaustion. We watch as he draws inspiration from both traditional Japanese and Kenyan clothing, creating outfits using squares of cloth suspended on strings. These designs evoke the intricate folds of origami, while the colors shimmer in a way reminiscent of a Monet painting. It’s a gorgeous reimagining of high fashion as an inspiration for environmental sanity..
Grand Tour
Directed by Miguel Gomes • February 15
Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China • 2024 • Historical / Comedy / Drama• 128min
Where do old clothes go to die? For Yuima Nakazato, one of Japan’s leading haute couture designers, the question is at the heart of the future of fashion and the health of the planet. In this eye-opening documentary, director Kosai Sekine follows the quiet-spoken designer in his late thirties, in his ponytail and halting English, as he gets on a plane, not to Milan or Paris, but Nairobi. Kenya is one of the African countries where much of the world’s used clothing is dumped, most of it ending in landfills or open-air burn pits. According to the UN, the clothing industry is second only to the oil industry in its ecological impact.
We follow Nakazato as he wanders through the massive Gikomba Market where used clothes are sold by the hundreds of kilos, and northern Kenya, where former grazing pastures have turned to deserts. With eight weeks to go before presenting at the Paris Haute Couture show, the designer begins avidly looking for solutions, drawing on cutting edge new technology, including synthetic proteins inspired by spider webs, to solve the problems old technology has created. As the clock ticks down toward the Paris show, Nakazato works to the point of exhaustion. We watch as he draws inspiration from both traditional Japanese and Kenyan clothing, creating outfits using squares of cloth suspended on strings. These designs evoke the intricate folds of origami, while the colors shimmer in a way reminiscent of a Monet painting. It’s a gorgeous reimagining of high fashion as an inspiration for environmental sanity..
