The Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 is taking place virtually across the world from Monday, February 14, 2022 to Sunday, February 27, 2022.
Below is the list of films available to the viewers in the U.S.
- Oz Land
- year: 2018
- rating: 5.6
- votes: 59
- runtimes: 105
- genres: Adventure, Drama
- akas: オズランド 笑顔の魔法おしえます。 (Japan, Japanese title), Ozu Rando (Japan), Страна Оз (Russia)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Takafumi Hatano
- kind: movie
- plot: Kurumi is hired at a high-end hotel, but is instead dispatched to work at fun fair that is connected to the business network. The new work is out in the country and there is not much else to do or places to go. The go-to employee is one Yoshiko. Kurumi wants to be successful and valued and is eager to learn from Yoshiko. All is not as it seems on the surface however.::aghaemi
- cast: Erika Asakura, Akira Emoto, Motoki Fukami, Mari Hamada, Haru, Ai Hashimoto, Norihisa Inoue, Chûkichi Kubo, Kong Kuwata, Tomoya Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Amane Okayama, Juri Shiratori, Masahiro Toda, Shôhei Ueki
- certificates: Japan:G, Taiwan:GP
- Her Love Boils Bathwater
- year: 2016
- rating: 7.4
- votes: 1857
- runtimes: 125
- genres: Drama
- akas: Yu wo Wakasu Hodo no Atsui Ai (Japan), 湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 (Japan, Japanese title), Her Love Boils Bathwater (United States), Her Love Boils Bathwater (World-wide, English title), Her Love Boils Bathwater (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Ryôta Nakano
- kind: movie
- plot: A strict, but caring mother has an awakening when she is told she has cancer and it is terminal. She has a few months. She needs to complete her tasks in that short time frame. She needs to retrieve her husband who has vanished and get the family business restarted. She needs to help her daughter be able to pick after herself. Will the family bonds grow stronger or wither?::aghaemi
- cast: Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Aoi Itô, Yukiko Shinohara, Tarô Suruga, Tôri Matsuzaka, Joe Odagiri, Nanoka Matsubara, Shuhei Eto, Kagetora Miura, Sôtarô Tanaka, Lily, Hiroshi Suzuki
- certificates: Argentina:Atp, Brazil:Livre, Hong Kong:IIA, Japan:G, Singapore:PG, South Korea:12, Taiwan:GP
- It’s a Summer Film!
- year: 2020
- rating: 6.7
- votes: 235
- runtimes: 97
- genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
- akas: サマーフィルムにのって (Japan, Japanese title), It’s a Summer Film! (World-wide, English title), It’s a Summer Film! (United States), It’s a Summer Film! (United Kingdom), It’s a Summer Film (Germany)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Sôshi Masumoto
- kind: movie
- plot: Barefoot and her friends decide to make a samurai movie, gather a unique cast and staff for the production, and try to screen it at their school festival. During the production, Barefoot finds out that Rintaro is a time-traveler from the future.
- cast: Marika Itô, Daichi Kaneko, Yumi Kawai, Kirara Inori
- certificates: Australia:G, Japan:G, Singapore:PG
- Mio’s Cookbook
- year: 2020
- rating: 6.4
- votes: 64
- runtimes: 131
- genres: Drama
- akas: みをつくし料理帖 (Japan, Japanese title), Mio’s Cookbook (United States), Mio’s Cookbook (World-wide, English title), Mio’s Cookbook (Singapore, English title), Mio’s Cookbook (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Haruki Kadokawa
- kind: movie
- plot: When Mio was young, she lost her parents in a great flood and also became separated from her best friend Noe. Afterwards, Mio found her talent in cooking and eventually became a cook. Meanwhile, Noe has become an oiran (high-ranking courtesan).
- cast: Honoka Matsumoto, Nao Honda, Mayumi Wakamura, Atsuko Asano, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Yûta Koseki, Takashi Fujii, Hironobu Nomura, Misa Etô, Noriko Watanabe, Jun Murakami, Kentez Asaka, Takaaki Enoki, Koji Ishizaka, Takeshi Kaga, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Shidô Nakamura, Takashi Sorimachi, Hiroko Yakushimaru
- certificates: Brazil:12, Singapore:PG
- Râmen yori taisetsuna mono
- year: 2013
- rating: 7.5
- votes: 43
- runtimes: 90
- genres: Documentary
- akas: A Rámen-isten (Hungary), Mistrz ramenu (Poland), The God of Ramen (Australia)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Takashi Innami
- kind: movie
- plot: Documentary taken over 10 years, showing the life of a 70 year old ramen cook who had devoted his life to making the best ramen and teaching others to do the same. Every day, customers queued for 2 hours to eat his ramen. Age, osteoarthritis, varicose veins and weight gain impede his ability to continue to work. A heart-warming story of a man’s devotion to his work and to his wife who died 20 years before and of the devotion of his apprentices to him.::pfoss
- cast: Shôsuke Tanihara, Kazuo Yamagishi
- certificates: Canada:G::(British Columbia), Philippines:G
- Bread of Happiness
- year: 2012
- rating: 6.6
- votes: 465
- runtimes: 114
- genres: Comedy, Drama
- akas: しあわせのパン (Japan, Japanese title), Bread of Happiness (World-wide, English title), Bread of Happiness (United States), Bread of Happiness (United Kingdom), 幸福的面包 (China, Mandarin title)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Yukiko Mishima
- kind: movie
- plot: A couple decide to relocate from Tokyo to the northern island of Hokkaido where they settle and establish a bakery and café called Mani. One cooks. The other bakes. Everyone walks out happy and satisfied, no matter the time of day, time of year or their mental state when they walked in.::aghaemi
- cast: Tomoyo Harada, Yô Ôizumi, Ken Mitsuishi, Kimiko Yo, Morio Agata, Yûta Hiraoka, Riki Honda, Nobue Iketani, Kenta Imanishi, Reika Kirishima, Kanna Moriya, Katsuo Nakamura, Yasuhi Nakamura, Nozomi Ohashi, Maki Shinta, Atsuko Tanaka, Misako Watanabe, Yûki Yagi
- certificates: Germany:Not Rated
- Aristocrats
- title: Aristocrats
- year: 2020
- rating: 6.8
- votes: 388
- runtimes: 124
- genres: Drama
- akas: あのこは貴族 (Japan, Japanese title), Ano ko wa kizoku (Japan), Aristocrats (United States), Aristocrats (World-wide, English title), Aristocrats (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Yukiko Sode
- kind: movie
- plot: Hanako is in her late twenties and is looking for stability with her man. She gets dumped instead. She begins dating. Miki studied and worked hard to get to where she is and is holding down a job. They are introduced through an intermediary man.::aghaemi
- cast: Guin Poon Chaw, Kei Ishibashi, Shizuka Ishibashi, Mugi Kadowaki, Kengo Kôra, Ryôka Minamide, Kiko Mizuhara, Kenta Satoi, Hitomi Takahashi, Masane Tsukayama, Takashi Yamanaka, Rio Yamashita
- certificates: Japan:G::(self-applied), Singapore:PG
- Happy Flight
- year: 2008
- rating: 6.2
- votes: 728
- runtimes: 103
- genres: Comedy
- akas: ハッピーフライト (Japan, Japanese title), Happy Flight (United States), Happy Flight (World-wide, English title), Happy Flight (United Kingdom), Voo Feliz (Brazil)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Shinobu Yaguchi
- kind: movie
- plot: A great variety of aviation professionals such as pilots, flight attendants, the ground crew, mechanics, dispatchers, controllers, and the bird patrol crew all support a single flight. They have only one mission: to secure the safety of the passengers! Today was supposed to be any other day on the job, departing on schedule and heading safely to Honolulu, but::American Film Market
- cast: Seiichi Tanabe, Saburô Tokitô, Haruka Ayase, Kazue Fukiishi, Shinobu Terajima, Ittoku Kishibe, Bengal, Noriko Eguchi, Akira Emoto, Shizuka Fujimoto, Tomoharu Hasegawa, Mika Hijii, Kami Hiraiwa, Aiko Ito, Kumiko Itô, Kiho Kashiro, Hana Kino, Fumiyo Kohinata, Bokuzô Masana, Tamaki Matsuda, Sanae Miyata, Ryû Morioka, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Yasuhi Nakamura, Takashi Sasano, Daikichi Sugawara, Yukina Sugihara, Tomoko Tabata, Iku Takamatsu, Naoto Takenaka, Tetsushi Tanaka, Yoshiko Tatsumi, Ryôsei Tayama
- certificates: Hong Kong:I, Singapore:PG, South Korea:All
- Masked Ward
- year: 2020
- rating: 5.4
- votes: 210
- runtimes: 114
- genres: Thriller
- akas: 仮面病棟 (Japan, Japanese title), Masked Ward (World-wide, English title), Masked Ward (United States), Masked Ward (Singapore, English title), Masked Ward (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Hisashi Kimura
- kind: movie
- plot: Shugo Hayami is a doctor at a nursing hospital, which was once a psychiatric hospital. One evening, when Shugo is on night duty, a man in pierrot mask breaks into the hospital and he is not alone. He is with Hitomi Kawasaki, a university student who has been shot by the masked man. The masked man tells Shugo to treat Hitomi. He also takes hostage the 64 people in the hospital. Soon, Shugo and Hitomi try to escape from the hospital and they encounter mysterious cases one at a time., A man in a mask after robbing a store, breaks into a hospital and he brings with him a young woman Hitomi Kawasaki, who has been shot by him. The masked man tells Shugo Hayami to treat Hitomi Kawasaki. Shugo Hayami, a new doctor who recently lost his wife n an unborn child in an accident gets close to Kawasaki after knowing that Kawasaki too lost a loved one. While the masked man takes everyone at the hospital as hostages, Hayami and Kawasaki try to escape from the hospital but they encounter mysterious cases one at a time.::Fella_shibby@yahoo.com
- cast: Kentarô Sakaguchi, Mei Nagano, Rio Uchida, Noriko Eguchi, Aki Asakura, Tomomi Maruyama, Shô Kasamatsu, Masaru Nagai, Gaku Sano, Izumi Fujimoto, Takehiko Ono, Kôsuke Suzuki, Ryôhei Ohtani, Masanobu Takashima
- certificates: Australia:MA15+, Japan:G::(self-applied), Singapore:PG13
- Sumodo
- year: 2020
- rating: 6.0
- votes: 6
- runtimes: 104
- genres: Documentary, Sport
- akas: Sumodo ~Samurai o tsugu mono tachi~ (Japan, Japanese title), 相撲道〜サムライを継ぐ者たち〜 (Japan, Japanese title), Sumodo – Successors of Samurai (United States), SUMODO ~The Successors of Samurai~ (World-wide, English title), Sumodo ~ the Successors of Samurai ~ (Australia)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Eiji Sakata
- kind: movie
- plot: Following two wrestlers intimately for six months is the documentary’s way of examining the lifestyle, motivations, intentions and aspirations of sumo wrestlers and also gives air to the tradition, heritage and connection of the sport to Japan, its country of origin. The film features interviewers and examinations of wrestlers and coaches.::aghaemi
- cast: Junya Kototsurugi, Ryuden
- The Floating Castle
- year: 2012
- rating: 6.4
- votes: 497
- runtimes: 144
- genres: Comedy, Drama, History
- akas: のぼうの城 (Japan, Japanese title), The Floating Castle (United States), The Floating Castle (World-wide, English title), The Floating Castle (United Kingdom), The Floating Castle – Festung der Samurai (Germany)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Shinji Higuchi, Isshin Inudô
- kind: movie
- plot: In the year 1590, powerful daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi nears his plan to unify all of Japan, but he comes across a floating fortress known as Oshi Castle. Narita Nagachika must use his army to defend the castle.
- cast: Takehiro Hira, Takayuki Yamada, Mana Ashida, Machiko Ono, Kôichi Satô, Hiroki Narimiya, Honami Suzuki, Nana Eikura, Masachika Ichimura, Mansai Nomura, Isao Natsuyagi, Sei Hiraizumi, Akiyoshi Nakao, Motokatsu Suzuki, Takeo Nakahara, Masahiko Nishimura, Sôkô Wada, LiLiCo, Gin Maeda, Yusuke Kamiji, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro Tsuyuki, Makoto Sekine, Mitsunori Morita, Akihiro Satô, Jirô Murayama, Ryôsuke Yokoyama, Takuya Katô, Tôru Hasegawa, Tomofumi Tagawa
- certificates: Germany:12, Japan:G, South Korea:15
- The Chef of South Polar
- year: 2009
- rating: 6.9
- votes: 1061
- runtimes: 125
- genres: Comedy
- akas: 南極料理人 (Japan, Japanese title), Omoshiro nankyoku ryurinin (Japan), The Chef of South Polar (United States), The Chef of South Polar (World-wide, English title), The Chef of South Polar (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Shûichi Okita
- kind: movie
- plot: Nishimura has a passion for cooking, but never would he have imagined the task before him now: He is unexpectedly assigned to a south polar mission to serve as head chef at the Dome Fuji station. Leaving wife and daughter behind for a year, he and the other crew members experience one existential crisis after another in the icy cold. And then they run out of Ramen!::Nippon Connection
- cast: Masato Sakai, Katsuhisa Namase, Kanji Furutachi, Kosuke Toyohara, Kengo Kôra, Takashi Ukaji, Kitarô, Daisuke Kuroda, Masahiro Kohama
- certificates: Brazil:Livre, South Korea:All
- ReLIFE
- year: 2016
- rating: 7.8
- votes: 4323
- runtimes: 24
- genres: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
- akas: Повторная жизнь (Russia), Làm Lại Cuộc Đời (Vietnam)
- languages: Japanese, English
- kind: tv series
- plot: A young man, failing at life, is offered a new start as a 10 years younger high-school student., The story follows Kaizaki Arata, a 27-year-old jobless man, who fails at every job interview he had after quitting his last company. His life changes after he met Yoake Ryou of the ReLife Research Institute, who offered him a drug that can change his appearance to 17-years-old and to become a subject in an experiment for one year. Thus, he begins his life as a high school student once more.
- cast: Josh Grelle, Micah Solusod, Jeannie Tirado, Kristen McGuire, Blake Shepard, Alexis Tipton, Kenshô Ono, Ryohei Kimura, Ai Kayano, Reina Ueda, Bryn Apprill, Haruka Tomatsu, Yuma Uchida, Stephen Sanders, Caitlin Glass, Alejandro Saab, Himika Akaneya, Daisuke Namikawa, Miyuki Sawashiro, Noriaki Sugiyama, Kyôko Narumi, Amanda R. Gish, Shizuka Itô, Wataru Hatano, Tia Lynn Ballard, Alex Moore, Anthony Bowling, Ben Phillips, Marissa Lenti, Kristen Lee, Megan Emerick, Lynsey Hale, Kenji Akabane, Ryôko Shiraishi, Yui Kondô, Akane Fujita, Tarou Tanaka, Drew Bramlett, Jeremy Inman, Apphia Yu, Chris Burnett, Ethan Gallardo, Jacob Browning, Aaron Graves, Dex Peck, Kimberly Grace, Joanna Beatty, Kylie Stewart, Ryder Roberts, Ryûsei Nakao
- certificates: Australia:PG, Germany:6, Philippines:PG-13::(self-applied), South Korea:15, Spain:16, United States:TV-14
- Yarn
- year: 2020
- rating: 6.3
- votes: 291
- runtimes: 130
- genres: Romance
- akas: 糸 (Japan, Japanese title), Ito (Japan), Threads (World-wide, English title), Threads – Our Tapestry of Love (Hong Kong, English title), Threads – Our Tapestry of Love (Singapore, English title)
- languages: Japanese, English
- director: Takahisa Zeze
- kind: movie
- plot: Takahashi Ren and Sonoda Aoi are both children of the 1980s having been born in 1989. They met in 2002 and got to know love and lust at that young age through each other. As it so often happens at that age they went their separate ways only to reunite at the age of twenty one. Fate repeated itself. They are thirty-one years old and meeting again. What will be different this time> Or will fate reign over them as it did the previous times?::aghaemi
- cast: Masaki Suda, Nana Komatsu, Fumika Baba, Mitsuko Baishô, Nana Eikura, Yumika Hoskin, Yutaka Matsushige, Ryôka Minamide, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Ryô Narita, Fumi Nikaidô, Takumi Saitoh, Mahiro Takasugi, Pistol Takehara, Misako Tanaka, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Mizuki Yamamoto
- certificates: Japan:G, Singapore:PG, South Korea:12
- Until the Break of Dawn
- year: 2012
- rating: 6.3
- votes: 165
- runtimes: 129
- genres: Drama
- akas: ツナグ (Japan, Japanese title), Until the Break of Dawn (World-wide, English title), Until the Break of Dawn (United States), Until the Break of Dawn (United Kingdom)
- languages: Japanese
- director: Yûichirô Hirakawa
- kind: movie
- plot: High school student Ayumi is trained by his grandmother to act as a “tsunagu,” an intermediary for people who want to reach the dead., A grandmother has the ability to connect the living with the dead. However, this activity hinges on the willingness and acceptance of the dead subjects. She would like to pass on her ability to her grandson. As such, he is in training. Various folks avail themselves of this ability and chance, but there are also those who are skeptical.::aghaemi
- cast: Tôri Matsuzaka, Kirin Kiki, Ryûta Satô, Mirei Kiritani, Ai Hashimoto, Ito Ono, Ken’ichi Endô, Miyoko Asada, Tetsuya Bessho, Manami Honjô, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kensuke Ohwada, Rina Saito, Mizuho Suzuki, Toshi Takeuchi, Jun Toba, Kaoru Yachigusa
- certificates: Canada:PG::(British Columbia), Japan:G
