The Japanese Film Festival (JFF), presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney, marks its 29th year with a line-up of major new releases, literary adaptations, thrillers and anime features. Touring Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth from 27 October – 19 December, the festival continues to highlight the best of contemporary and classic Japanese cinema.
“We’re excited to bring a program that speaks to the breadth of Japanese cinema today,” said Manisay Oudomvilay, Festival Programmer. “From historical sagas to intimate family portraits, contemporary thrillers to beloved manga brought to life, these films capture both the richness of tradition and the restless innovation of Japanese filmmakers.”
Opening the festival is Kokuhо̄, Japan’s official submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. Directed by Lee Sang-il (Villain, Rage) and starring two of Japan’s biggest stars, Ryо̄ Yoshizawa and Ryūsei Yokohama, alongside veteran actor Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Memoirs of a Geisha) the film has broken all-time box office records for a live action film at home. The film follows five decades of friendship and rivalry between two boys who grow up inside the kabuki theatre tradition of western Japan. Based on the novel by Shūichi Yoshida, it traces their journey from adolescence in the 1960s through lives defined by loyalty, ambition and the pursuit of mastery in a highly competitive artform.
This year also sees the arrival of three new works from internationally acclaimed auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Chime, already hailed as one of 2024’s best horror films, traces the terrifying spread of a mysterious sound that alters behaviour with unpredictable consequences. Cloud, starring Masaki Suda, is a thriller about an online reseller caught in escalating threats both digital and real, and Serpent’s Path is a French-language remake of Kurosawa’s 1998 film of the same name. Together, these films reaffirm Kurosawa’s place as one of Japan’s most versatile and daring filmmakers.
Event Details:
Dates: 12 November – 1 December 2025
Locations: Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Palace Central, Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW)
The full program is available now at www.japanesefilmfestival.net.