ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
7 -16 February 2025
The UK’s biggest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), returns to the ICA for it's latest installment.
Am I Right? Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema
In a world where injustice runs rampant, cinematic expressions of justice seem inexhaustible: time and time again, heroic protagonists fend off malicious antagonists or enact their revenge, the constant injustices they face mirroring audiences’ own. Japan is no exception to this, and the JFTFP25 promises to showcase how Japanese filmmakers use the language of cinema to explore the concepts of criminal, social, and moral justice, along with the ways people respond to external judgement. Featuring everything from thought-provoking hidden gems to laugh-a-minute entertainment, UK audiences are invited to join us in questioning the very concepts of justice, justification, and judgement against today’s backdrop of ever-changing values and perspectives.
The UK’s biggest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), returns to the ICA for it's latest installment.
Am I Right? Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema
In a world where injustice runs rampant, cinematic expressions of justice seem inexhaustible: time and time again, heroic protagonists fend off malicious antagonists or enact their revenge, the constant injustices they face mirroring audiences’ own. Japan is no exception to this, and the JFTFP25 promises to showcase how Japanese filmmakers use the language of cinema to explore the concepts of criminal, social, and moral justice, along with the ways people respond to external judgement. Featuring everything from thought-provoking hidden gems to laugh-a-minute entertainment, UK audiences are invited to join us in questioning the very concepts of justice, justification, and judgement against today’s backdrop of ever-changing values and perspectives.
Programme
Friday 7 February, 6pm
Stay Mum + Q&A
While Chisako (Anne) is visiting her dementia-stricken estranged father (OKUDA Eiji), she encounters a boy (NAKASU Toma) who has lost his memory. Spotting signs of child abuse on his body, Chisako decides to pretend to be his mother, but the destructive consequences of her lie begin to close in…
Friday 7 February, 9pm
Qualia
Yuko’s (SASAKI Kokone) search for a new live-in employee leads her to Saki (ISHIKAWA Ruka), her husband’s (KIGUCHI Kenta) mistress. Throw in a bullying sister-in-law (KUDAMATSU Maya) and a reclusive colleague (TO Chikara), and Yuko’s once-peaceful life becomes a tangle of bizarre relationships in this black comedy.
Saturday 8 February, 1.20pm
To Mom with Love
Three sisters gather to celebrate their mother’s birthday: the bossy spinster Yayoi (EGUCHI Noriko), the beautiful but chaotic Manami (UCHIDA Chika), and the disillusioned Kiyomi (FURUKAWA Kotone). When Kiyomi reveals a surprise, their happy gathering descends into chaos in this lightning-fast screwball comedy.
Saturday 8 February, 3.30pm
Let's Go Karaoke!
Junior high school choir leader Satomi’s (SAITO Jun) ordinary teenage life is turned upside down when yakuza lieutenant Kyoji (AYANO Go) desperately asks him to provide singing lessons in the leadup to his gang’s high-stakes annual karaoke contest. Will these contrasting characters get along?
Saturday 8 February, 5.40pm
In the Wake
A sinister serial murder case unfolds in Sendai nine years after the city was ravaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Prefectural investigator TOMASHINO (ABE Hiroshi) suspects ex-convict TONE (SATOH Takeru), but discovers that the case’s roots lie deep in the disaster and the social injustice that followed it.
Saturday 8 February, 8.15pm
Tea Friends
Mana (OKAMOTO Rei) is the founder of 'Tea Friends,' a call girl service that sends elderly “tea girls” to its lonely old callers, ostensibly for company. The group enjoys booming business and a deep sense of camaraderie, but its seemingly-unbreakable bonds suddenly begin to collapse.
Sunday 9 February, 1.20pm
Additional screening on 11 February
Carmen Comes Home
When a self-proclaimed artistic dancer who goes by the stage name of Carmen (TAKAMINE Hideko) returns to her rural hometown, her behaviour and dress sense soon cause confusion and upset. This light-hearted comedy marks Japan’s first ever full-colour feature, humorously depicting shifts in post-war moral standards.
Sunday 9 February, 3.15pm
Additional screening on 13 February
What Happened to Our Nest Egg!?
Frugal housewife Atsuko’s (AMAMI Yuki) retirement savings are struck by a series of disasters: she is forced to pay for an expensive funeral for her father-in-law, her husband loses his job, and above all, her big-spending mother-in-law (KUSABUE Mitsuko) moves in… Can the family overcome their newfound financial adversity?
Sunday 9 February, 5.40pm
Broken Commandment
Teacher Ushimatsu (MAMIYA Shotaro) has a potentially devastating secret: he is a burakumin, a member of Japan’s outcaste community. Despite rumblings of anti-discrimination activism, those around Ushimatsu are beginning to doubt his roots, threatening both his position at the school and his romantic prospects.
Sunday 9 February, 8pm
The Moon
Once-popular novelist Yoko (MIYAZAWA Rie) starts work at an institution for the disabled, where she discovers the residents’ horrifying living conditions. When even empathetic carer SATO (ISOMURA Hayato) – her only solace – starts considering the residents soulless societal burdens, the consequences are devastating.
Tuesday 11 February, 6.10pm
Rude to Love
Hard-working, well-dressed, and caring, housewife Momoko (EGUCHI Noriko) seems an ideal daughter-in-law, but she is growing frustrated by her mother-in-law’s (FUBUKI Jun) intrusions, her untidy neighbours, and her husband’s (KOIZUMI Kotaro) indifference. When she discovers his affair, she is finally driven to madness.
Tuesday 11 February, 8.20pm
Day and Night
Koji’s (ABE Shinnosuke) father, a whistle-blower, takes his own life. Under pressure from his father’s debtors, Koji begins work at an orphanage run by Kenichi (ANDO Masanobu), but when he is also dragged into Kenichi’s criminal activities by night, the line between good and evil begins to blur.
Wednesday 12 February, 6.20pm
We Make Antiques!
Shady antiques dealer Norio (NAKAI Kiichi) and talented-but-impoverished potter Sasuke (SASAKI Kuranosuke) team up to con respectable connoisseurs out of their money in this comedy crowd-pleaser with a unique focus on Japanese antiques dealership and Japan’s most revered tea master.
Wednesday 12 February, 8.30pm
Sakura
Police PR employee MORIGUCHI Izumi’s (SUGISAKI Hana) best friend is murdered in the midst of a major police misconduct scandal. Izumi is determined to find the killer, but the police force’s secrets run deep, and Izumi’s search for justice uncovers far more than she bargained for in this suspenseful mystery-thriller.
Thursday 13 February, 6.20pm
99% Cloudy...Always
When 45-year-old KUSUNOKI Kazuha (SANGOUMI Midori) is asked if she’s ever going to have children, she is uncertain, not only due to a past miscarriage but also because of her Asperger’s syndrome. This uncompromising drama explores the conventional standards enforced upon women on the autism spectrum.
Thursday 13 February, 8.30pm
A Girl Named Ann
Ann (KAWAI Yumi) has survived a traumatic, troubled childhood. One day, she meets detective TATARA (SATO Jiro), who successfully sets her up for a better life. Soon enough, though, rumours begin to circulate about TATARA’s involvement in a scandal, and a pandemic threatens Ann’s future.
Friday 14 February, 6.20pm
All the Long Nights
Misa (KAMISHIRAISHI Mone), a woman with debilitating PMS, and Takatoshi (MATSUMURA Hokuto), a man with a severe panic disorder, initially clash when they meet at work. But they soon find unexpected solace in one another in this gentle drama about friendship and human connections.
Friday 14 February, 8.40pm
Hope
The ISHIKAWA family is torn when their teenage son goes missing and is reported to be involved in a murder case: would they prefer he was a murderer, or he was murdered himself? Meanwhile, the media frenzy around the case pushes them to the edge in this tense drama.
Saturday 15 February, 1pm
Bushido
Samurai and skilled go player Kakunoshin (KUSANAGI Tsuyoshi) is falsely accused of a crime, which destroys his family and his status. When he finds out the truth behind the accusation, he and his daughter Okinu (KIYOHARA Kaya) set out to restore their honour through revenge, but their journey comes at a cost...
Saturday 15 February, 3.30pm
Ghost Cat Anzu
11-year-old Karin (voiced by GOTO Noa) is sent to stay with her grandfather and his goofy talking cat Anzu (voiced by MORIYAMA Mirai). Wishing to see her mother again, she goes with Anzu to visit her grave on the anniversary of her death... but their journey soon escalates into a magical adventure into the underworld.
Saturday 15 February, 5.30pm
(Ab)normal Desire
Yaeko (HIGASHINO Ayaka) fears men but loves Daiya (SATO Kanta), who hides a dark secret. Natsuki (ARAGAKI Yui) and Yoshimichi (ISOMURA Hayato) share a fetish for spurting water. Hiroki (INAGAKI Goro) cannot accept his son’s truancy. Gradually, these unconnected lives begin to intersect…
Saturday 15 February, 8.10pm
The Inugami Family
Just after World War II, the INUGAMI family patriarch’s death brings a shocking revelation: only one of his grandsons can inherit his fortune, and to do so he must marry outsider Tamayo (SHIMADA Yoko). The scramble for the inheritance takes a dark turn when a series of gruesome murders shake the family to its core.
Sunday 16 February, 1.10pm
The Scoop
Bookworm Yui (FUJIYOSHI Karin) has been given a unique entry requirement for her school’s literature club: she must find out the true identity of an elusive but famous student writer. Yui infiltrates the newspaper club to investigate, but quickly discovers darker secrets that will shake her school to its very core…
Sunday 16 February, 3.10pm
A Samurai in Time
Edo-era samurai KOSAKA Shinzaemon (YAMAGUCHI Makiya) is suddenly transported through time – onto the set of a 21st-century period drama. Lost, confused and alone, he eventually finds purpose in utilising his sword skills as a TV extra. A clever, characterful comedy featuring remarkable observations of today’s film industry.
Sunday 16 February, 5.45pm
Ichiko + Q&A
KAWABE Ichiko (SUGISAKI Hana) vanishes after her boyfriend HASEGAWA’s (WAKABA Ryuya) marriage proposal. Bewildered, HASEGAWA sets out to find her, and discovers a shocking truth: there is no record of KAWABE Ichiko ever existing. Who is Ichiko, and where has she gone?
Sunday 16 February, 8.50pm
Penalty Loop
IWAMORI Jun (WAKABA Ryuya) wants revenge for his girlfriend’s death. He kills the man (ISEYA Yusuke) who murdered her... and then wakes up to find himself trapped in a time loop of that day, exacting his revenge over and over again. Gradually this never-ending chase grows into a bizarre relationship between the two.
Friday 7 February, 6pm
Stay Mum + Q&A
While Chisako (Anne) is visiting her dementia-stricken estranged father (OKUDA Eiji), she encounters a boy (NAKASU Toma) who has lost his memory. Spotting signs of child abuse on his body, Chisako decides to pretend to be his mother, but the destructive consequences of her lie begin to close in…
Friday 7 February, 9pm
Qualia
Yuko’s (SASAKI Kokone) search for a new live-in employee leads her to Saki (ISHIKAWA Ruka), her husband’s (KIGUCHI Kenta) mistress. Throw in a bullying sister-in-law (KUDAMATSU Maya) and a reclusive colleague (TO Chikara), and Yuko’s once-peaceful life becomes a tangle of bizarre relationships in this black comedy.
Saturday 8 February, 1.20pm
To Mom with Love
Three sisters gather to celebrate their mother’s birthday: the bossy spinster Yayoi (EGUCHI Noriko), the beautiful but chaotic Manami (UCHIDA Chika), and the disillusioned Kiyomi (FURUKAWA Kotone). When Kiyomi reveals a surprise, their happy gathering descends into chaos in this lightning-fast screwball comedy.
Saturday 8 February, 3.30pm
Let's Go Karaoke!
Junior high school choir leader Satomi’s (SAITO Jun) ordinary teenage life is turned upside down when yakuza lieutenant Kyoji (AYANO Go) desperately asks him to provide singing lessons in the leadup to his gang’s high-stakes annual karaoke contest. Will these contrasting characters get along?
Saturday 8 February, 5.40pm
In the Wake
A sinister serial murder case unfolds in Sendai nine years after the city was ravaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Prefectural investigator TOMASHINO (ABE Hiroshi) suspects ex-convict TONE (SATOH Takeru), but discovers that the case’s roots lie deep in the disaster and the social injustice that followed it.
Saturday 8 February, 8.15pm
Tea Friends
Mana (OKAMOTO Rei) is the founder of 'Tea Friends,' a call girl service that sends elderly “tea girls” to its lonely old callers, ostensibly for company. The group enjoys booming business and a deep sense of camaraderie, but its seemingly-unbreakable bonds suddenly begin to collapse.
Sunday 9 February, 1.20pm
Additional screening on 11 February
Carmen Comes Home
When a self-proclaimed artistic dancer who goes by the stage name of Carmen (TAKAMINE Hideko) returns to her rural hometown, her behaviour and dress sense soon cause confusion and upset. This light-hearted comedy marks Japan’s first ever full-colour feature, humorously depicting shifts in post-war moral standards.
Sunday 9 February, 3.15pm
Additional screening on 13 February
What Happened to Our Nest Egg!?
Frugal housewife Atsuko’s (AMAMI Yuki) retirement savings are struck by a series of disasters: she is forced to pay for an expensive funeral for her father-in-law, her husband loses his job, and above all, her big-spending mother-in-law (KUSABUE Mitsuko) moves in… Can the family overcome their newfound financial adversity?
Sunday 9 February, 5.40pm
Broken Commandment
Teacher Ushimatsu (MAMIYA Shotaro) has a potentially devastating secret: he is a burakumin, a member of Japan’s outcaste community. Despite rumblings of anti-discrimination activism, those around Ushimatsu are beginning to doubt his roots, threatening both his position at the school and his romantic prospects.
Sunday 9 February, 8pm
The Moon
Once-popular novelist Yoko (MIYAZAWA Rie) starts work at an institution for the disabled, where she discovers the residents’ horrifying living conditions. When even empathetic carer SATO (ISOMURA Hayato) – her only solace – starts considering the residents soulless societal burdens, the consequences are devastating.
Tuesday 11 February, 6.10pm
Rude to Love
Hard-working, well-dressed, and caring, housewife Momoko (EGUCHI Noriko) seems an ideal daughter-in-law, but she is growing frustrated by her mother-in-law’s (FUBUKI Jun) intrusions, her untidy neighbours, and her husband’s (KOIZUMI Kotaro) indifference. When she discovers his affair, she is finally driven to madness.
Tuesday 11 February, 8.20pm
Day and Night
Koji’s (ABE Shinnosuke) father, a whistle-blower, takes his own life. Under pressure from his father’s debtors, Koji begins work at an orphanage run by Kenichi (ANDO Masanobu), but when he is also dragged into Kenichi’s criminal activities by night, the line between good and evil begins to blur.
Wednesday 12 February, 6.20pm
We Make Antiques!
Shady antiques dealer Norio (NAKAI Kiichi) and talented-but-impoverished potter Sasuke (SASAKI Kuranosuke) team up to con respectable connoisseurs out of their money in this comedy crowd-pleaser with a unique focus on Japanese antiques dealership and Japan’s most revered tea master.
Wednesday 12 February, 8.30pm
Sakura
Police PR employee MORIGUCHI Izumi’s (SUGISAKI Hana) best friend is murdered in the midst of a major police misconduct scandal. Izumi is determined to find the killer, but the police force’s secrets run deep, and Izumi’s search for justice uncovers far more than she bargained for in this suspenseful mystery-thriller.
Thursday 13 February, 6.20pm
99% Cloudy...Always
When 45-year-old KUSUNOKI Kazuha (SANGOUMI Midori) is asked if she’s ever going to have children, she is uncertain, not only due to a past miscarriage but also because of her Asperger’s syndrome. This uncompromising drama explores the conventional standards enforced upon women on the autism spectrum.
Thursday 13 February, 8.30pm
A Girl Named Ann
Ann (KAWAI Yumi) has survived a traumatic, troubled childhood. One day, she meets detective TATARA (SATO Jiro), who successfully sets her up for a better life. Soon enough, though, rumours begin to circulate about TATARA’s involvement in a scandal, and a pandemic threatens Ann’s future.
Friday 14 February, 6.20pm
All the Long Nights
Misa (KAMISHIRAISHI Mone), a woman with debilitating PMS, and Takatoshi (MATSUMURA Hokuto), a man with a severe panic disorder, initially clash when they meet at work. But they soon find unexpected solace in one another in this gentle drama about friendship and human connections.
Friday 14 February, 8.40pm
Hope
The ISHIKAWA family is torn when their teenage son goes missing and is reported to be involved in a murder case: would they prefer he was a murderer, or he was murdered himself? Meanwhile, the media frenzy around the case pushes them to the edge in this tense drama.
Saturday 15 February, 1pm
Bushido
Samurai and skilled go player Kakunoshin (KUSANAGI Tsuyoshi) is falsely accused of a crime, which destroys his family and his status. When he finds out the truth behind the accusation, he and his daughter Okinu (KIYOHARA Kaya) set out to restore their honour through revenge, but their journey comes at a cost...
Saturday 15 February, 3.30pm
Ghost Cat Anzu
11-year-old Karin (voiced by GOTO Noa) is sent to stay with her grandfather and his goofy talking cat Anzu (voiced by MORIYAMA Mirai). Wishing to see her mother again, she goes with Anzu to visit her grave on the anniversary of her death... but their journey soon escalates into a magical adventure into the underworld.
Saturday 15 February, 5.30pm
(Ab)normal Desire
Yaeko (HIGASHINO Ayaka) fears men but loves Daiya (SATO Kanta), who hides a dark secret. Natsuki (ARAGAKI Yui) and Yoshimichi (ISOMURA Hayato) share a fetish for spurting water. Hiroki (INAGAKI Goro) cannot accept his son’s truancy. Gradually, these unconnected lives begin to intersect…
Saturday 15 February, 8.10pm
The Inugami Family
Just after World War II, the INUGAMI family patriarch’s death brings a shocking revelation: only one of his grandsons can inherit his fortune, and to do so he must marry outsider Tamayo (SHIMADA Yoko). The scramble for the inheritance takes a dark turn when a series of gruesome murders shake the family to its core.
Sunday 16 February, 1.10pm
The Scoop
Bookworm Yui (FUJIYOSHI Karin) has been given a unique entry requirement for her school’s literature club: she must find out the true identity of an elusive but famous student writer. Yui infiltrates the newspaper club to investigate, but quickly discovers darker secrets that will shake her school to its very core…
Sunday 16 February, 3.10pm
A Samurai in Time
Edo-era samurai KOSAKA Shinzaemon (YAMAGUCHI Makiya) is suddenly transported through time – onto the set of a 21st-century period drama. Lost, confused and alone, he eventually finds purpose in utilising his sword skills as a TV extra. A clever, characterful comedy featuring remarkable observations of today’s film industry.
Sunday 16 February, 5.45pm
Ichiko + Q&A
KAWABE Ichiko (SUGISAKI Hana) vanishes after her boyfriend HASEGAWA’s (WAKABA Ryuya) marriage proposal. Bewildered, HASEGAWA sets out to find her, and discovers a shocking truth: there is no record of KAWABE Ichiko ever existing. Who is Ichiko, and where has she gone?
Sunday 16 February, 8.50pm
Penalty Loop
IWAMORI Jun (WAKABA Ryuya) wants revenge for his girlfriend’s death. He kills the man (ISEYA Yusuke) who murdered her... and then wakes up to find himself trapped in a time loop of that day, exacting his revenge over and over again. Gradually this never-ending chase grows into a bizarre relationship between the two.
no. 236848.