SHORT CUTS Program 1

Flashback Before Death (寓 – Gu)
North American Premiere. The directorial debut of composer Hiroyuki Onogawa—best known for his collaborations with Sogo (Gakuryu) Ishii starting with August in the Water (1995)—and his wife Rii Ishihara, Flashback Before Death is a cryptic and eerie short composed of disassociated flashbacks that follow a young man’s return home in 1930s Japan.

Dir. Rii Ishihara and Hiroyuki Onogawa, 2022, 30 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Rii Ishihara, Masatoshi Kihara, Hanae Seike.

Silent Movie (サイレントムービー – Sairento Mubi)
International Premiere. Nine students and three alumni from Tokyo University of the Arts’ Film Department create 11 silent films spanning samurai tales, mysteries, thrillers, animation and even giant monsters. See the next generation of filmmakers play with cinema’s past. All films narrated by renowned benshi storyteller Ichiro Kataoka.

Dir. Masamichi Kawata, Satoru Hirohara, and Hiroshi Gokan, 2022, 56 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Ichiro Kataoka, Hiroaki Kawaguchi, Ikuhiko Aoyama.

Part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 2023
July 26—August 6, 2023

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

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Image: Flashback Before Death © Hotel des Arts, Silent Movie © Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media.

JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film is generously supported by Shiseido Americas and The Globus Family. Additional support is provided by Sapporo U.S.A. and BentOn.

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, and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, David Toberisky, and Friends of Film. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the exclusive official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film. Housing assistance is provided by the Kitano Hotel, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film.

Special Thanks to Joel Neville Anderson; Emi Ueyama (ARTicle Films); Yasuyuki Nagano (ColorBird Inc); Yuko Takagi (FreeStone Productions); Moeko Fujii; Keiko Yoshida (Gaga Corp.); Saori Takenaka (Geidai); Chance Huskey (GKIDS); Pearl Chan (Good Move Media); Eugene Harng; Toshiyuki Hasegawa; Miki Zeze (Kadokawa Corp.); KENTARO (KTRFILMS); Akiko Uchida (King Records); Maki Shimizu (Kino Films); Elizabeth Lennard; Ayako Ito (Nagoya); Mami Furukawa and Umi Yamamoto (Nikkatsu); Gerald Abraham (Okamoto Kitchen); Shinji Sakoda; Mark Schilling; Dan Sullivan; Adam Torel (Third Window Films); Shiori Takata (Toei Co. Ltd); Sam van der Meer; Makoto Kawamura (Voice); Kousuke Ono (Wa Entertainment, Inc.); K.F. Watanabe; Akiko Yano.