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Media Release

For Immediate Release | May 19, 2022

Japanese Film Festival (JFF) Fringe 2022

The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) is back with JFF Fringe, an off-season program of contemporary Japanese films. This year’s JFF Fringe program, In the Presence of Space, features a selection of documentaries that survey the intersection of Japanese contemporary art, music and architecture through film. In celebration of the Sydney Modern Project at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the series spotlights Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, as well as their architectural firm SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates).

Presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney, two screenings of each film will be shown in Sydney at Palace Cinemas Central and Verona from June 24-26, 2022.

Directed and filmed by photographer Takashi Homma, Architecture, Time and Kazuyo Sejima closely follows Sejima’s creative process from conception to completion. Over the course of three and a half years, the documentary covers the making of Sejima’s architectural masterpiece, a new building for Osaka University of Arts.

Tokyo Ride offers an unconventional city portrait through the lens of Ryue Nishizawa, as he takes filmmaking duo Bêka & Lemoine on an intimate tour of Tokyo in his beloved vintage Alfa Romeo. Against the backdrop of a dreary day in Tokyo, Nishizawa points out the places that have influenced him and some of his own architectural projects within the city.

In Moriyama-san, experience one week in the life of Mr. Moriyama, the Japanese art, architecture and music enlightened amateur who occupies Moriyama House, the iconic residence built by Pritzker-Prize winner Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA). Within this intimate space, filmmaker Ila Bêka captures the unique personality of the owner: an urban hermit living in a small oasis of peace and contemplation in the heart of Tokyo.

An artist shrouded in mystery, Rei Naito refuses to be filmed on camera. Regardless, A Room of Her Own : Rei Naito and Light attempts to get close to the essence of Naito’s art without pointing the camera at the artist herself. This art documentary explores the pulsating space of Matrix, an immersive artwork constructed in collaboration with SANAA architect Ryue Nishizawa at the Teshima Art Museum. Five women who are enticed by the world of Naito’s art are also featured, as they visit the installation. 

The JFF Fringe Program will also include a special guest event featuring Professor Michael Tawa, an architect and Professor of Architecture at The University of Sydney. Tickets are now on sale at the Japanese Film Festival website.

Program & Ticketing Info

Screening Schedule

A Room of Her Own: Rei Naito and Light
Palace Verona | June 25 (Sat), 8:30pm
Palace Central | June 26 (Sun), 1pm

Architecture, Time and Kazuyo Sejima
Palace Verona | June 25 (Sat), 1pm
Palace Central | June 26 (Sun), 7pm

Moriyama-San
Palace Verona | June 24 (Fri), 6pm (Post-screening Talk)
Palace Central | June 25 (Sat), 4pm

Tokyo Ride
Palace Central | June 24 (Fri), 8:30pm
Palace Verona | June 26 (Sun), 4pm

Header image © Bêka & Lemoine

SPECIAL GUEST EVENT

Ambient Circumspection: Nishizawa’s Moriyama House and Bêka & Lemoine’s Moriyama-San
June 24 (Friday)
Film screening: 6pm-7pm
Talk: 7pm-7:50pm

In this post-screening talk, Michael Tawa reflects on the atmospheric capacity of architecture and cinema. The attentive cinematography of Moriyama-San and the archipelagic architectonics of Ryue Nishizawa’s 2005 Moriyama House both operate as frames or infrastructures that enable place, and being-in-place, to take place, to happen, to eventuate.

ABOUT THE JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL

The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) in Australia is an annual film festival that has been presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney since 1997. 2021 marked the 25th year of JFF Australia, with the festival offering newly-released Japanese titles alongside rare 35 and 16mm film screenings. The JFF Satellite Program also toured a hand-picked selection of Japanese films across Australia.

In early 2022, JFF Online streamed 17 Japanese films across Australia for free, including feature films and documentaries.

ABOUT THE JAPAN FOUNDATION, SYDNEY

The Japan Foundation, Sydney is the Australian arm of the Japan Foundation, which was established by the Japanese government to promote cultural and intellectual exchange between Japan and other nations. It runs a diverse range of programs and events, including exhibitions, talk events, grant programs and Japanese language courses for all levels, from beginner to advanced. The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 with a global network of 25 offices in 24 countries. The Australian office was founded in 1978.

EDITOR’S NOTES
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Venues

Palace Cinemas Verona
17 Oxford St
Paddington NSW 2021
T: (02) 9360 6099

Palace Cinemas Central
28 Broadway
Chippendale NSW 2008
T: (02) 9190 2290

Ticketing

General: $20.00
Concession (for students): $18.00
Discount (for Palace members): $17.00

Available at the box offices of participating cinemas and online.

Media Enquiries

(02) 8239 0055

Program Enquiries

(02) 8239 0055

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