Japanese Film Festival Eigasai 2011 in Cebu

Eigasai 2011 is a Japanese Film Festival which is in Celebration of Philippines - Japan Friendship Month! Japan Foundation once again opens its doors for the Philippine-Japan Friendship Month with a series of cultural events. Kicking off the month-long festivity is the much-awaited Eiga Sai. “Eiga Sai”, which literally means ‘film festival.’,

EIGASAI is an annual event where we are welcome to watch several of Japan’s best movies for free. It’s an entire week of film screening at your nearest sponsor mall.

See below for this year's Japanese Film Festival - Eigasai!

Departures (Okuribito)

Departures is about a musician who abandons his career in music and takes a job as someone who encoffinates corpses before cremation. As he grows confident in his new job, several significant events start happening.

One Million Yen Girl (Hyakumanen to Nigamushi Onna)

One Million Yen Girl focuses on 21-year old Suzuko, who takes on different jobs from town to town and vows to leave the city once she saves up one million yen. Another movie is a comedy based on a chef who went to the South Pole in 1997, aptly called The Chef of South Polar.

The Chef of South Polar (Nanyoku Ryorinin)

A heart-warming comedy based on the famous essay written by a chef who went to South Pole in 1997. The film depicts with humor the hilarious and touching story about a meal and the South Pole experienced by 8 men research team dispatched at Dome Fuji Station in Antarctica, 100km away from Antarctic Coast wherein neither animals nor viruses survive. Several unique characters has to live together for one and a half years. How would life be in the South Pole?

Summer Days With Coo (Kappa no Coo to natsu-yasumi)

Every year, Eiga Sai includes one animation into the mix. This year, it’s about a kappa named Coo and his misadventures in the modern world in Summer Days with Coo.

Your Friend (Kimi no Tomodachi)

Your Friend is about a writer who visits a school in a small city for research on children who have problems. There he meets a volunteering college student named Emi, who has captured his interest.

Climber’s High (Kurimatsu Hai)

On August 12, 1985, a jumbo jet crashed; out of 524 passengers, there were only 4 survivors, making the incident the biggest single-plane tragedy in the world. The local press reporters are tossed about by the waves of facts and rumors.

Yunagi City, Sakura Country (Yunagi No Machi, Sakura No Kuni)

The film was based on a manga comic by Fumiyo Kono, portraying the tragedy that the atomic bomb carries beyond generations depicting the viewpoint of two women in two-frame stories, one from the past and the other from the present day.

The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (Tsurugidake: Ten no ki)

“If no one tries, there will never be a path.” The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones tells the story of a band of men challenged Japan’s last unconquered mountain, in order to complete a map of their nation.

Villon’s Wife (Villon no Tsuma)

The relationship between a hard-drinking, promiscuous writer and his beautiful, upstanding, and devoted wife is shown in Villon’s Wife.

Feel the Wind (Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru)

Lastly, long-distance student runners and the pressure of competition is the focus of Feel the Wind. Japanese guys sweating over intense physical activities wearing tanks and short shorts? Looks very Anime-ish but that's Japanese Films for ya!

All films will be shown with English subtitles. Admission is free.

Screening Schedules:
SHANG CINEPLEX CINEMA 4:

JULY 1 (Friday)
-Opening Night by Invitation at Cinema 2
-Departures (131 mins ) 7:00 PM

JULY 2 (Saturday)
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 1:00 PM
-Departures (131 mins ) 4:00 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 3 (Sunday)
-Summer Days with Coo (1:38 mins) 1:00 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 4:00 PM
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 4 (Monday)
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 1:00 PM
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 4:00 PM
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 5 (Tuesday)
-Your Friend (125 mins) 1:00 PM
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 4:00 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 6 (Wednesday)
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 1:00 PM
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 4:00 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 7 (Thursday)
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 1:00 PM
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 4:00 PM
-Your Friend (125 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 8 (Friday)
-Your Friend (125 mins) 1:00 PM
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 4:00 PM
-Departures (131 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 9 (Saturday)
-Departures (131 mins) 1:00 PM
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 4:00 PM
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 10 (Sunday)
-Summer Days with Coo (1:38 mins) 1:00 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 4:00 PM
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 7:00 PM

GAISANO GRAND CITIMALL, DAVAO CITY

JULY 22 (Friday)
-Your Friend (125 mins) 4:00 PM
-Departures (131 mins ) 6:30 PM

JULY 23 (Saturday)
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 11:00 AM
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 1:30 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 4:00 PM
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 7:00 PM

JULY 24 (Sunday)
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 11:00 AM
-Summer Days with Coo (1:38 mins) 1:30 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 4:30 PM
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 7:15 PM

AYALA CENTER CINEMA 4, CEBU CITY

AUGUST 2 (Tuesday)
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 7:00 PM

AUGUST 3 (Wednesday)
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 7:00 PM

AUGUST 4 (Thursday)
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 7:00 PM

AUGUST 5 (Friday)
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 7:00 PM

AUGUST 6 (Saturday)
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 1:30 PM
-Summer Days with Coo (1:38 mins) 4:30 PM
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 7:30 PM

AUGUST 7 (Sunday)
-Your Friend (125 mins) 1:30 PM
-Summer Days with Coo (1:38 mins) 4:30 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 7:30 PM

UP FILM INSTITUTE, UP-DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY

AUGUST 17 (Wednesday)
-Summer Days with Coo (138 mins) 12:30 PM
-One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 3:00 PM
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 5:30 PM
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 7:30 PM

AUGUST 18 (Thursday)
-Your Friend (125 mins) 12:30 PM
-Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 3:00 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 5:15 PM
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 7:30 PM

AUGUST 19 (Friday)
-Climber’s High (145 mins) 12:30 PM
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 3:00 PM
-Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 5:30 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 7:30 PM
-Summer Days with Coo (138 mins) 12:30 PM
-Feel the Wind (133 mins) 3:00 PM
-The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 5:10 PM
-The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 7:30 PM

I joined Eigasai 2010 last year and I was blown away! You can truly see the difference in culture through how they made movies. This was a 1st movie I watched aside from Japanese Anime. My favourite was TOKYO TOWER Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad (2007 movie) which I can totally relate to my life..and of course got teary eyed T_______T it was that AWESOME! guruguru guru guru..:P

guru guru guru guru..

Summary (*Spoilers):
The story is well-known by now: based on an auto-biographical novel by Renaissance man Lili Franky, Tokyo Tower tells the story of Masaya (Joe Odagiri) and his mother Eiko (played by two actresses, more on that later). The film opens on the inevitable: Eiko has already been admitted to the hospital, while Masaya balances spending time with his mother and working at multiple jobs, including one as a perverted radio personality. Meanwhile, the film flashes back to Masaya's childhood, when his mother moved them back to her hometown to get away from his deadbeat dad, who eventually does have a minor presence in his life.

With a lot of different genres and stories to choose from, what’s not to love about Eiga Sai? AND ONCE AGAIN, IT IS FREE! See you there then?! You may visit the Japan Foundation, Manila for more info.