Shorts Program 2

Social Circles 『Social Circles』
In our daily lives, we form various social circles through interactions with friends, colleagues and family, and with social media, we now create social circles all over the world. Through this experimental art piece, artist Eri Saito explores the faint boundaries that emerge between individual communications, relationships and our inability to fully connect. 

Dir. Eri Saito, 2023, 15 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles.

Parking Area『Parking Area』
International Premiere. Created entirely on director Toru Masayama’s iPhone and MacBook Pro, Parking Area sends a weary traveler into a psychedelic kaleidoscope. Stopping at a highway rest area, each step the traveler takes propels them further and further down the rabbit hole and into a realm where nature and concrete merge and sprawl into the sky.

Dir. Toru Masuyama, 2022, 9 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Saemi Okano.

Nezumikozo Jirokichi ( 『山中貞雄に捧げる漫画映画「鼠小僧次郎吉」』- Yamanaka Sadao ni Sasageru Manga Eiga “Nezumikozo Jirokichi”)
U.S. Premiere. Legendary anime director Rintaro’s (Metropolis, X/1999, Galaxy Express 999) first new work in over a decade depicts pioneering 1930s director Sadao Yamanaka and the production of his Nezumikozo Jirokichi. Despite dying before the age of 30, Yamanaka was a pivotal influence in Japanese cinema whose work would go on to inspire future generations. While most of his films have been lost to time, his scripts remain, and Nezumikozo Jirokichi recreates one of these lost films—a tale of a famous, virtuous bandit in old Edo—as imagined by Rintaro together with an all-star team including Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Memories), Taro Maki (Pluto, Millennium Actress) and Masao Maruyama (Ninja Scroll, Perfect Blue).

Dir. Rintaro, 2023, 23 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Mami Koyama.

Part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 2024
July 10—21, 2024

JAPAN CUTS is the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America and an annual highlight of New York’s cinema scene.

Image: Nezumikozo Jirokichi © M2, Genco & Miyu Productions.

Japan Society programs are made possible by leadership support from Booth Ferris Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family and Friends of Film. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film.