Photos of the director and stars from Japanese movie KIYOSU CONFERENCE (Kiyosu Kaigi) which closed the 2013 TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: director Koki Mitani, Koichi Sato, Yo Oizumi, Koji Yakusho, Fumio Kohinata, and Kyoka Suzuki (from left to right). Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – KIYOSU CONFERENCE closing film →

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE is a thoroughly entertaining and eye-opening documentary recounting the 1975 failed attempt of famed Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo and The Holy Mountain) in creating an epic film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s revered science fiction novel DUNE. Although it sounds ultimately like a bit of an anticlimactic film, it’s full of hope, humour and inspiration, and Director Frank Pavich delves so deeply into the cogs and framework of the never-made Dune that you leave the cinema feeling as though you’ve been privy to a secret glimpse of it. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 7: Jodorowsky’s Dune →

ZONE PRO SITE – THE MOVEABLE FEAST

Topping the Taiwanese box office in 2013, beating Kick-Ass 2 and Riddick among others, Zone Pro Site – The Moveable Feast sees the revival of forgotten cuisine and banquets from Taiwan brought about by absolutely delightful characters and impeccably executed dialogue. It’s been some 16 years since Taiwanese Director Chen Yu-hsun released his full-length film Love Go Go, and the 51-year old has certainly made a comeback with this wonderfully vivid, laugh-out-loud comedy. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – DAY 6 continued →

This much-hyped and long-anticipated Steven Soderbergh TV film (HBO) about Liberace has received multiple rave reviews. Adapted from an exposé book written by ex-boyfriend Scott Thorson, who following their broken relationship went on to sue Liberace in part for palimony. As Soderbergh’s reportedly last feature film ever, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA appeared to be a suitable end to his feature run and a rich homage to the great musical legend, but regardless of the film’s high acclaim, I wanted to view the film on its own merits. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 6: Behind the Candelabra →

A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY

There was quite the influx of food-related films at this year’s TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, A Tale of Samurai Cooking (Bushi-no Kondate) joining the likes of Taiwan’s 27˚C – Loaf Rocks and Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast, in the realm of cuisine-focused cinema. This Japanese contribution is by no means overshadowed by its Taiwanese rivals, offering its own powerful take on the role food has played in history. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 5 →

LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME

Love Is The Perfect Crime (L’amour est un crime parfait) is a captivating thriller set in the picturesque mountains between Switzerland and France. Following the disappearance of one of his students, Barbara, immediately after a night of passion between the two, university professor Marc (the enigmatic Mathieu Amalric, from The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, Quantum Solace, Munich) is haunted by the mystery of her absence as well as the constant presence of her terrified mother Anna Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 4 →

KATE NASH is reaching the end of her UK tour, and she’s ending it on a high here in Manchester, where she has a loyal following. About three-quarters full, the venue is the perfect size for this Nash night out. A mix of eager students, fans young and older are packed towards the front barrier, and as Kate’s trademark “You Don’t Own Me” intro comes wafting over the speakers, screams emanate from the crowds. Kate’s incredible all-female backing band traditionally emerge first, this time dressed in black sparkly outfits, abandoning the notably cooler grunge-rock look we saw earlier in the year at Gorilla. Continue reading KATE NASH closes UK tour in Manchester but doesn’t want it to end →

THE DOUBLE

Directed by The IT Crowd‘s Richard Ayoade, and adapted into a film based on the classic novella of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Double tells of a nervous, depressed individual named Simon James who feels desperately haunted by his loneliness and invisibility at work and by the woman he loves. Then one day a new employee starts up at his company, a man named James Simon, who looks exactly like him in every way, much to Simon’s absolute terror. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 3 continued →

In 1984, an American-owned pesticide factory called Union Carbide, located in the city of Bhopal, India, malfunctioned and sent poisonous gas churning into the atmosphere, enveloping the city and killing thousands upon thousands of people. To this day, Union Carbide has not issued an apology, and the compensation paid out was a mere 300 dollars per death. In response, writer and director Ravi Kumar, a paediatrician in India with modest experience in filmmaking, took it upon himself to create the film BHOPAL – A PRAYER FOR RAIN which tells the story of the Bhopal victims of Union Carbide. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 3: BHOPAL – A PRAYER FOR RAIN →

WE ARE THE BEST!

This beautiful and charming film directed by Lukas Moodysson (SHOW ME LOVE aka FUCKING AMAL) revels in the heartache and uncertainty of youth from the viewpoint of three 12 year-old girls growing up in Stockholm. Bobo, Klara and Hedvig, played by Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne respectively, all deal with the tribulations of adolescence and the consequences of naivety and impulsiveness. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 2 continued →

Named after the group of seven teens who amassed an incredible stash worth $3 million by burgling the homes of several celebrities (notably Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and Lindsay Lohan) over a period stretching from October 2008 to August 2009, Sofia Coppola’s buzz film THE BLING RING hits this year’s TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL with a bang. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Day 2: The Bling Ring →

The 26th TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL got off to a real bang at the trendy Roppongi Hills with the trademark eco-friendly green carpet rolled out again for guests arriving from all parts of the world. Particular excitement came with the arrival of TOM HANKS and British director PAUL GREENGRASS promoting festival opening film CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, and SOFIA COPPOLA accompanied by her prolific director father FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA and mother ELEANOR COPPOLA to celebrate her latest buzz movie BLING RING. Continue reading TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2013 – Opening Day →

Tuesday evening in Tokyo, SHATTERJAPAN was lucky enough to catch British folk queen BETH ORTON play a cosy set in the safety of Shibuya’s Club Quattro to the backdrop of a raging typhoon. It was certainly more comfortable on the top floor of the building than it was outside, in a packed-out venue surrounded by unwinding post-work salarymen and wine-sipping couples. Continue reading BETH ORTON warms the crowds in a stormy Tokyo →

At the cosy TAKK café in Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter, I’m here to meet Vancouver-based Canadian singer-songwriter HANNAH GEORGAS. Continue reading HANNAH GEORGAS reaches new heights in Manchester →