
The Vancouver International Film Festival is back for their 43rd edition from September 26 to October 6, 2024!
This year’s lineup of Japanese films include SORA Neo‘s Tokyo dystopia in Happyend, Mipo O‘s CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) family drama Living in Two Worlds, IGARASHI Kohei‘s seaside mystery Super Happy Forever, MATSUMOTO Michiko‘s documentary about artist Niki de Saint Phalle, and GIFT: A Film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi X Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi.
The Japan Foundation, Toronto is proud to be a continued supporter of VIFF through our Film Showing Abroad Grant Program.
GIFT: A Film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi X Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi
Multi-instrumentalist and composer ISHIBASHI Eiko, who scored director HAMAGUCHI Ryûsuke’s Oscar-winning film Drive My Car (VIFF 2021) presents the Canadian Premiere of GIFT—a new silent film directed by Hamaguchi, and accompanied by a dynamic, live soundtrack performed by Ishibashi.
Live Score by ISHIBASHI • Eiko Directed by KUROSAWA Kiyoshi • Canadian Premiere
Japan • 2024 • 74min
Living in Two Worlds ぼくが生きてる、ふたつの世界
O Mipo’s stirring, elliptical family drama traces 28 years in the life of Dai (YOSHIZAWA Ryo), a “Child of Deaf Adults” from rural Japan. Blaming his mother (OSHIDARI Akiko) for his social differences, he leaves his family for Tokyo as a young man, eventually landing a job as a magazine writer. The new friends he makes through a sign language group open his eyes to a diversity of deaf experiences, helping him see his mother in a poignant new light.
Directed by Mipo O • North American Premiere
Japan • 2024 • 105min • Japanese with English subtitles
Super Happy Forever
In IGARASHI Kohei’s haunting, mysterious film, Sano (SANO Hiroki) and his friend Miyata (MIYATA Yoshinori) return to the seaside town where Sano met his wife Nagi (YAMAMOTO Nairu) five years ago. Nagi is now deceased, and the trip is part of an attempt to exorcise Sano’s grief. Eventually, the director takes us back in time, showing the couple’s first meeting…
Directed by IGARASHI Kohei • North American Premiere
Japan, France • 2024 • 94min • Japanese with English subtitles
Viva Niki – The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle タロット・ガーデンへの道
One of the few female monumental sculptors of her generation, feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) is best known for her playfully vibrant, voluptuous Nana statues, which stand proudly as icons of female empowerment in multiple countries’ public spaces. Combining photos from her own archive with new footage, director MATSUMOTO Michiko guides us on a joyous retrospective of Saint Phalle’s breathtaking oeuvre.
Directed by MATSUMOTO Michiko • World Premiere
Japan • 2024 • 75min • English, French, Italian, and Japanese with English subtitles