Kingdom of the Apes is a 2022 Japanese thriller, written and directed by Shūgō Fujii. Making his directorial debut with Living Hell (2000), Fujii gained notoriety with his recent mystery thriller Red Line Crossing (2017). “A director of a news program was called to an emergency meeting in the boardroom of a TV station on the

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Having recently lost her grandmother, Satoko Sato finds herself deeply withdrawn from the pressures of Covid landing her in the position of a NEET. However, at the age of 32, Satoko feels the pressure to move on, but her limited desires have her seemingly only reaching to be a rich person’s wife. After a failed

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Necronomicon: Evocative Magic is a 2019 fantasy horror, directed by Mitsunori Hasegawa. Mitsunori is known for directing Onigokko (2013) and Machiawase (2013) and has also won the Grand Prize at the 1st CyberSpace Film Festival. The film is loosely based on the dark fantasy novel Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft. In 1938, an unemployed Masao

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Have you ever had a heart-to-heart with a bartender? I’ve often heard peers joke about how bartenders are basically therapists with a license to sell alcohol, and although I haven’t expressed my inner turmoil to any drink-serving strangers, the phenomenon is pretty widespread across the globe. What is it about bartenders that make people want

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oneday a woman

After a hard day of work, 36-year-old Yuko Sawamatsu returns to her apartment for an evening to unwind. However, her memories of a recent affair with a married man keep coming back to her in the form of flashbacks. Although these memories are painful, Yuko is resolved in her choice to have ended the relationship.

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Eri's Murder Diary Film

Proposing itself as an intimate look at a killer, Eri’s Murder Diary caught my attention among the many titles at Japan Film Fest Hamburg. Directed by newcomer Koji Degura, I was excited to take a deep dive into the mind of a killer and see what I would find. What Is It About? Looking to

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I. Dolphin Girl Film Review

Japan seems to have nailed the absurdist comedy, whether that’s big budget to small indie features, no other country is comparable in wit at embracing the peculiar. Available at Japan Film Fest Hamburg, the festival always boasts a wonderful mix of genres, but their choices for absurdist cinema always seem to be spot on. Enter

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For years, film festivals have allowed passionate film viewers the ability to enjoy and celebrate the art of film-making from all around the world. In a lot of cases, well-established filmmakers will present their newest flicks at these events, but there are also many instances where unknown creators are given the chance to do the

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Japan Film Fest Hamburg Shorts cover photo

One of the biggest highlights of the Japan Film Fest Hamburg rests within the diverse selection of short films. For the audience, this means getting the chance to see original shorts seldom screened outside of Japan and unlikely to ever release in the West. The fest embracing multiple genres, too, ensures a varied experience. This

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A Beast in Love Cover Photo

One of the more unique entries in this years Japan Film Fest Hamburg (JFFH), A Beast in Love (2020) is the latest film from the mind of Koji Shiraishi.  Prolific in horror, having explored a multitude of sub-genres throughout the years, Koji Shiraishi is most known for his entries into ‘mocumentary horrors’ such as Noroi

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