July 17-30, 2020
North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema returns for its unprecedented 14th edition as an entirely online experience! Featuring a diverse slate of 30 features and 12 shorts—including studio blockbusters, independent productions, documentaries, restored classics, animation and avant-garde works—JAPAN CUTS 2020 offers 14 days of unique access to the best new films from Japan with filmmaker video introductions, live virtual Q&As and panel discussions for audiences across the entire United States.
- “It’s the best opportunity for American film lovers to get an unparalleled peek into the singular world of Japanese cinema.” — The Wall Street Journal
- “JAPAN CUTS has unambiguously become America’s best annual showcase of new Japanese film… a comprehensive snapshot of the country’s ever-vital national cinema.” — IndieWire
- “Characteristically rich, forward-thinking film programming.” — RogerEbert.com
Organized by K. F. Watanabe, Amber Noé and Joel Neville Anderson.
Collections
Festival Trailer
1m
•
trailer
•
2020
Animated Trailer
1m
•
Animation
•
2020
Launch Video
1m
•
Filmmaker Introductions Compilation
•
2020
Festival Reel
1m
•
Trailer
•
2020
Feature Slate
Extro
1h 29m
•
Comedy
•
2020
Fukushima 50
2h 1m
•
Suspense, Drama
•
2020
It Feels So Good
1h 55m
•
Drama, Erotic
•
2019
Labyrinth of Cinema
2h 59m
•
Drama, War
•
2019
Mrs. Noisy
1h 46m
•
Comedy, Drama
•
2019
My Sweet Grappa Remedies
1h 48m
•
Comedy, Romance
•
2019
On-Gaku: Our Sound
1h 11m
•
Animation, Comedy
•
2020
Special Actors
1h 49m
•
Comedy
•
2019
Tora-san, Wish You Were Here
1h 55m
•
Drama, Family
•
2019
Voices in the Wind
2h 19m
•
Drama
•
2020
Next Generation
Beyond the Night
1h 34m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
Kontora
2h 23m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
Life: Untitled
1h 38m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
The Murders of Oiso
1h 19m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
My Identity
1h 3m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
Roar
1h 39m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2020
Sacrifice
1h 16m
•
Indie, Drama
•
2019
Classics
Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp (Tora-san #1)
1h 31m
•
Comedy, Family
•
1969
Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again (Tora-san #15)
1h 32m
•
Comedy, Family
•
1975
Tora-san, My Uncle (Tora-san #42)
1h 48m
•
Comedy, Family
•
1989
Documentary Focus
Book-Paper-Scissors
1h 34m
•
Documentary, Biography
•
2019
i -Documentary of the Journalist-
1h 53m
•
Documentary, Political
•
2019
Prison Circle
2h 0m
•
Documentary, Crime
•
2020
Reiwa Uprising - Part I
2h 8m
•
Documentary, Political
•
2019
Seijo Story - 60 Years of Making Films
1h 23m
•
Documentary, Biography
•
2019
Sending Off
1h 18m
•
Documentary
•
2019
What Can You Do About It?
2h 0m
•
Documentary, Biography
•
2019
Experimental Spotlight
Cenote
1h 15m
•
Avant-Garde, Documentary
•
2019
Kinta and Ginji
1h 24m
•
Avant-Garde, Comedy
•
2019
Shell and Joint
2h 34m
•
Avant-Garde, Dark Humor
•
2019
Shorts Showcase
Bath House of Whales
7m
•
Short, Animation
•
2019
Birdland
20m
•
Short, Drama
•
2019
Bleached Bones Avenue
16m
•
Short, Documentary
•
2020
Blind Bombing, Filmed by a Bat
32m
•
Short, Avant-Garde
•
2020
Fuel
16m
•
Short, Avant-Garde
•
2019
Lost Three Make One Found
26m
•
Short, Documentary
•
2019
Nana
8m
•
Short, Documentary
•
2019
See You on the Other Side
24m
•
Short, Indie
•
2019
The Sculpture of Place & Time
8m
•
Short, Documentary
•
2019
Tokyo Girl
8m
•
Short, Documentary
•
2019
Wheel Music
14m
•
Short, Avant-Garde
•
2019
Wolf's Calling
17m
•
Short, Music
•
2019
Free Talks and Panels
Shinya Tsukamoto On Nobuhiko Obayashi
9m
•
Tribute
•
2020
Nobuhiko Obayashi: A Conversation
1h 37m
•
Biography
•
2020
Collaboration and Community in Japanese Cinema During the Pandemic
1h 20m
•
Industry
•
2020
New Approaches to Documentary from Japan
1h 4m
•
Documentary
•
2020
Opening Night Live Q&A with Shinichiro Ueda
60m
•
Q&A
•
2020
Centerpiece Presentation Live Q&A with Koichi Sato and Ken Watanabe
60m
•
Video
•
2020
Closing Night Live Q&A with Obayashi Prize Recipient Anshul Chauhan
60m
•
Q&A
•
2020