2024 Official Selection (Nov. 14 - 24, 2024)
In-Theater Screenings (at Music Box Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2 films)
Opening Night
Horror | Japan | 2024 |108 min. | U.S. Premiere | (c)2024 "SAYURI" Production Committee
Sunday, November 17 @ 7:00 pm CST
at MUSIC BOX THEATRE, Chicago, IL (Ended)
Report and Photos
House of Sayuri
2024 Audience Award Winner
Winner’s Remark: here
Just as the Kamiki family begins their new life, strange laughter echoes through the house, and one by one …
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Closing Night
Drama | Japan | 2023 | 96 min. | North American Premiere | ©2023 Qualia Film Partners
Sunday, November 24 @ 7:00 pm CST
at MUSIC BOX THEATRE, Chicago, IL (Ended)
Report and Photos
Qualia
Yuko, who married into the Tanaka family, which runs a poultry farm, leads a modest and diligent life, taking care of her family, …
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Virtual Screenings 2024
FUKUMA Kenji Memorial Spotlight
A Special Screening of Director Fukuma's Final Work Not Born Yesterday, Celebrating the Life of a Poet and Filmmaker Who Lived Through Both Poetry and Cinema.
About Dir. FUKUMA Kenji
Drama, Fantasy | Japan | 2023 | 86 min. | International Premiere | (c)tough mama
Not Born Yesterday
Nanami, a second-year middle school student, lives with her mother. Her father left long ago. One day, she meets Misaki …
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Trailer
Documentary, Music | Japan | 2022 | 83 min. | U.S. Premiere | (C)Yuji Moriwaki All rights reserved
Bring Minyo Back!
Has Minyo Died!?" The Tokyo-based band Minyo Crusaders mixes traditional Japanese folk songs with Latin and Afrobeat …
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Drama | Japan | 2023 | 97 min. | International Premiere | (c)GOT/Renji Iwanami
Copo a Copo
In a rundown apartment building in Osaka's downtown, which still carries the scent of the Showa era, various …
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Drama, Fantasy, War | Japan | 2023 | 60 min. | U.S. Premiere | (c)Harumakigo
The Girls
In a forest where birds sing and sunlight filters through the trees, the familiar landscape of mountains and rivers …
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Drama, Romance | Japan | 2021 | 75 min. | International Premiere | ©LesPros entertainment
Leave in Summer
Nana lost her parents at a young age and took over the inn "Nakajima-so" in a seaside town. One day in early September …
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Documentary, sports | Japan | 2024 | 79 min. | International Premiere | (c)Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
New Nemuro Pro Wrestling Story
In 2006, Samson Miyamoto, a toy store owner in Nemuro, Hokkaido, founded "New Nemuro Pro Wrestling" to promote …
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Youth, Fantasy, Drama | Japan | 2023 | 99 min. | North American Premiere | (c)Eijitsukajin/Takeda Karin/kotofilm
Till The Day I Can Laugh About My Blues
2024 Special Mention Winner
Winner’s Remark: here
Anne, a middle school student who doesn’t fit in and is always alone, finds her only refuge on a forbidden staircase …
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CJFC X
Tanabe Benkei Film Festival &
Jimbocho Movie Festival (JMF)
Programs from Two Film Festivals in Japan
(Virtual Screenings, U.S. Only)
Drama, Family | Japan | 2023 | 110 min. | International Premiere | (c)35 Films Parks
99% Cloudy... Always
At her mother's first death anniversary, Kazuha (45) is asked by her uncle, "Aren't you going to have children?" His words …
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SF, Suspense, Drama | Japan | 2023 | 90 min. | International Premiere | (c)2023 Inazumasha
Esper X Private Detective Agency - Searching for Good-Bye -
As crimes involving psychic abilities increase, Detective Matsuda, who possesses the strange ability to understand …
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This festival is supported by a grant from
From the Festival: Receiving support from ChicagoScreens marks a tremendous milestone for our festival. As a festival dedicated to Japanese independent feature films—and the first of its kind in the Midwest—joining Chicago's vibrant film festival community and receiving this support is both a profound honor and an inspiring motivator. It’s a joy to share our mission with audiences here. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone at ChicagoScreens for selecting the Chicago Japan Film Collective. We are committed to bringing a unique selection of Japanese contemporary cinema from Chicago to audiences across the nation. Enjoy the 4th edition of the 2024 Chicago Japan Film Collective.
