uniFrance Films unveils the selection of the 20th French Film Festival which takes place June 21 through 24 in Tokyo.
Created in Yokohama in 1993 and situated in Tokyo for several years, the French Film Festival in Japan is one of the key rendezvous on the uniFrance calendar. This festival works closely with Japanese distributors, who use it as a launching pad for the films they've acquired.
This anniversary edition opens with The Intouchables - Japan is one of the last territories where this phenomenon, which has already racked up more than 20 million admissions internationally, will be released. Its two directors, Olivier Nackache and Éric Toledano, will travel to Japan to present the film.
Comedies, dramas, documentaries and animation films make up the program:
- Ernest & Celestine by Benjamin Renner (in his presence), Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar
- Declaration of War by Valérie Donzelli (in her presence, accompanied by lead actor Jérémie Elkaïm)
- Il se peut que la beauté ait renforcé notre résolution by Philippe Grandrieux (in his presence)
- Livid by Julien Maury (in his presence) and Alexandre Bustillo
- A Gang Story by Olivier Marchal (in the presence of actor Dimitri Storoge)
- The Mysteries of Lisbon by Raoul Ruiz (in the presence of Melvil Poupaud)
- Sleepless Night by Frédéric Jardin (in his presence, accompanied by Tomer Sisley)
- Silent Voice by Léa Fehner (in her presence)
- The Players by Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, among others
- A Happy Event by Rémi Bezançon.
For the first time since its creation, Japanese distributors proposed all the films in the selection, except for the animated film Ernest & Celestine; this genre is much appreciated in Asia. The selection is completed by a program of six short films, including La dernière caravane, which will be accompanied by its director, Foued Mansour.
Meetings are planned between the artists traveling to the event and the local press (Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Brutus, Figaro Japan, J Wave, Fuji Television), and also, for the first time, with the public beyond the theaters, for example at the Apple Store Ginza, which will host a series of events tied in with the festival.
See the French Film Festival in Japan trailer here