Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film

North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese film returns for its 18th year this summer at Japan Society! Join us July 10-20 for 30 curated films from across Japan featuring major award-winners, indie darlings, up-and-coming filmmakers, restorations, documentaries, experimental and short films and anime. JAPAN CUTS Powered by GU is a showcase of the latest in Japanese cinema, featuring both today’s most popular actors and directors as well as tomorrow’s pioneering talent. Become part of our passionate filmgoer community for premieres, parties and celebrity guests in the heart of America’s biggest city!

Leading this year’s highlights:

JAPAN CUTS Powered by GU will present legendary director Kiyoshi Kurosawa with the CUT ABOVE Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film, host the premieres of his new film Cloud and recent remake of Serpent’s Path, as well as showcase revivals of License to Live and a new 4K restoration of the original Serpent’s Path.

Schedule

July 13, 2025

Kowloon Generic Romance

12:30 pm

World Premiere. Perhaps nostalgia is nothing more than another form of love. Reiko Kujirai (Riho Yoshioka), who works at a real estate agency in the nostalgic town of Kowloon Walled City, is in love with her senior, Hajime Kudo(Koshi Mizukami). Hajime knows every corner of Kowloon and often takes Reiko to his favorite places, yet the distance between them remains the same. Despite this, Reiko finds comfort in her everyday life, surrounded by dear friends like Yaomay (Minami Umezawa), the shoemaker owner, and Xiaohei (Kotone Hanase), who works part-time at various stores across the town. One day, Reiko is startled when Tao Gwen (Shuntaro Yanagi), a café worker at Goldfish Teahouse, mistakes her for Hajime’s lover. She also stumbles upon a photograph-one that shows Hajime with a woman who looks exactly like her. The forgotten memories of her past, the mystery behind her duplicate self, and the hidden truths buried within Kowloon… As the past and present collide, romance becomes the key to unraveling the unknown. Jun Mayuzuki’s acclaimed science fiction mystery manga comes to life!

Dir. Chihiro Ikeda, 2025, 120 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Riho Yoshioka, Koshi Mizukami.

A Girl Named Ann

With Actress Q&A

5:30 pm

North American Premiere-Q&A with Yuumi Kawai. Starring Yuumi Kawai, who won Best Actress at the Japan Academy Film Prize for this stunning performance, A Girl Named Ann tells the story of a teenage dropout attempting to rebuild her life. Ann (Kawai) tries to find hope amid abuse and addiction and it takes the hand of a Tokyo detective (Sato) to help lift her from the depths. Yet what are the motives of this outstretched hand, and can a single girl climb back to society when the world itself has turned its back? Inspired by a painfully true story, A Girl Named Ann is a testament to individual perseverance and condemnation of larger societal failures, written and directed by the lauded Yu Irie.

Dir. Yu Irie, 2024, 113 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Yuumi Kawai, Jiro Sato, Goro Inagaki.

Tickets

$20 Nonmembers

$14 Members

$18 Seniors/Students

$18 Person with Disability

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