‘The First Slam Dunk’ To Open New York’s Japan Cuts; Ryuichi Sakamoto Remembered, Yuya Yagira To Receive Award
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EXCLUSIVE: Blockbuster animated feature The First Slam Dunk will open Japan Cuts, a festival of Japanese cinema in New York, which will also feature a special tribute to late Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
The festival will also present the Cut Above award for Outstanding Achievement to actor Yuya Yagira for his role in Kentaro’s Under The Turquoise Sky, which will screen as the Centerpiece Film. Yagira was the youngest ever winner of Best Actor at the Cannes film festival for Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows in 2004. Yagira and Kentaro will both attend the festival.
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The First Slam Dunk, which will be making its East Coast premiere at Japan Cuts, is the highest-grossing film at the Japanese box office so far this year and was recently acquired by Gkids for North American distribution.
The Ryuichi Sakamoto tribute involves a screening of Elizabeth Lennard’s 1985 documentary Tokyo Melody: A Film About Ryuichi Sakamoto. The rarely-shown cult film will screen with renowned musician Akiko Yano and Lennard both present.
Organised by the Japan Society, Japan Cuts is taking place as in-person event (July 26–August 6) for the first time in three years due to the pandemic.
In total, the festival will screen 29 films, including five International Premieres, ten North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres and three New York Premieres. All screenings will take place at the Japan Society centre on East 47th Street with English subtitles.
The festival also features a competition section, Next Generation, which will screen six features from emerging filmmakers, including recent Osaka Asian Film Festival winners Sanka: Nomads Of The Mountain and When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty. The jury comprises critic and essayist Moeko Fujii; Lincoln Center film programmer Dan Sullivan; and distributor Pearl Chan (Good Move Media, Kani Releasing).
Other sections include Feature Slate, screening 14 recent Japanese narrative features, and a programme of short films. Ryuhei Kitamura’s The Three Sisters Of Tenmasou Inn will screen as the closing film.
“Japan Cuts is one of Japan Society’s most popular events and beloved in New York’s cinema scene,” said Japan Society director of film Peter Tatara. “After a pause during the pandemic, we couldn’t be more proud for Japan Cuts to return with two weeks of exciting, thought-provoking and tear-jerking films.”
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