30th Cinema Nippon

Consulate General of Japan in Kolkata and Nihongo Kaiwa Kyookai Society (NKKS) in collaboration with HIDCO - Nazrultirtha and The Japan Foundation, New Delhi, organized the 30th Cinema Nippon from 2 to 4 August 2019 at Nazrultirtha, a cultural centre at Rajarhat, Kolkata. The festival consisted of a selection of Japanese films with English subtitles, including movies directed by acclaimed filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Makoto Shinkai.

Consul-General of Japan in Kolkata, Mr. Masayuki Taga, Chairman of WBHIDCO, Mr. Debashis Sen, and President of NKKS, Mrs. Poonam Nand De, attended the festival on the first day and welcomed the audience.

Mrs. De thanked WBHIDCO for providing the venue in which the festival could be held and hoped that this would provide good exposure to students of Japanese language.

Mr. Sen expressed pleasure that a film festival showcasing Japan is being held in Rajarhat and hoped that similar such events will be held in the future. He wished to have presentations of life and society of present-day Japan in Nazrultirtha from which people can learn.

Mr. Taga hoped that people of Kolkata, especially those living in Salt Lake and Rajarhat, will enjoy the movies and get to know more about various aspects of Japan.
   

THRONE OF BLOOD

Runtime: 110 min
Release Date: 15 January 1957
Director: Akira Kurosawa

Cast:  Toshiro Mifune as Taketoki Washizu
           Isuzu Yamada as Asaji Washizu
           Minoru Chiaki as Yoshiaki Miki

Plot: Samurai warrior Taketoki Washizu encounters a spirit who prophesizes his future. When the first part of the prophecy comes true, in order to speed up the rest, Washizu murders his lord and takes his place. However, his effort to change the last part of the prophecy leads to his own men turning against him. A MID-SUMMER'S OKINAWAN DREAM

Runtime: 125 min
Release Date: 25 July 2009
Director: Yuji Nakae

Cast: Yuki Shibamoto as Yuriko
          Honami Kurashita as Majiru
          Tomi Taira as Tanme  
      
Plot: Set on a small Okinawa island, the movie portrays happiness woven between humans and kijimun (spirits). Exhausted from her romance in Tokyo, Yuriko returns to her hometown on and reunites with the spirit, Majiru. Things start to get hectic as soon as she arrives while Majiru does his absolute best using a secret love potion.   HIGH AND LOW

Runtime: 143 min
Release Date: 1 March 1963
Director: Akira Kurosawa

Cast:  Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo
           Tatsuya Nakadai as Detective Tokura
           Kyoko Kagawa as Reiko Gondo

Plot: Executive Director, Kingo Gondo, mortgages all he owns in order to gain control of his company. Soon, he finds that he needs the same amount, to pay the ransom for somebody else’s kidnapped child. He faces the most difficult question of his life and ultimately decides to save the child.
THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS

Runtime: 91 min
Release Date: 20 November 2004
Director: Makoto Shinkai

Cast:  Hiroki Fujisawa as Hidetaka Yoshioka
           Takuya Shirakawa as Masato Hagiwara
           Sayuri Sawatari as Yuka Nanri

Plot: A story of two childhood friends who grow apart after one of their friends goes missing. Set in an alternate timeline, Japan is divided and occupied by two rival powers while a mysterious tower comes up in northern Japan. The two cross paths once again and realize their missing friend might be the key to save the world.