The Japanese Film Festival 2024 (JFF) returns to Johor Bahru at GSC Paradigm Mall JB from 26th to 29th September. The ongoing Festival will end on the 20th October and is currently running at selected GSC cinemas across Malaysia. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, this year’s JFF showcases a diverse lineup of over 13 films, spanning genres like drama, sci-fi, romance, thriller, and animation.
Over the past 20 years, JFF has attracted over 200,000 festival-goers, presented 215 films, 127 directors, and hosted 11 fringe events across 11 venues in 5 states. Just last year, the festival had 9,498 attendees as it dramatically recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2024 festival opened with “GODZILLA MINUS ONE” (2023), winner of the Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. Directed by YAMAZAKI Takashi, this film offers a fresh take on the GODZILLA franchise and will also be the premiere of ‘GODZILLA MINUS ONE’ in Malaysian theatres! To mark the 70th anniversary of GODZILLA, JFF 2024 had hosted a GODZILLA Marathon in Klang Valley and Penang, featuring “GODZILLA MINUS ONE” (2023) and the original “GODZILLA” (1954) directed by HONDA Ishiro.
In addition, for anime-goers, be sure not to miss titles such as the 1988 iconic, “AKIRA” by OTOMO Katsuhiro and “SAND LAND” (2023) by the late TORIYAMA Akira, the same author who brought us Dragon Ball. The festival features compelling new releases such as “MATCHED” (2024), “All the Long Nights” (2024) by MIYAKE Sho, who made an appearance at last year’s JFF opening, and “A Samurai in Time” (2024) which was recently released in Japan on 17th August, each offering unique perspectives on contemporary Japanese life and culture.
As part of the 20th-anniversary celebrations, The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, is organising a 5-day filmmaking workshop for Malaysian and Japanese youths. Led by director Lim Kah Wai, the workshop will cover ideation, production, and editing, with the completed short films to be shown on JFKL Youtube channel at @TheJapanFoundationKL.
Festival-goers will have the opportunity to collect stamps throughout the festival to redeem exclusive goodies and prizes1.
Tickets for JFF 2024 are affordably priced at RM10.00 (except “A Samurai in Time” which will be sold at prevailing ticket price) and are available through GSC channels. There will also be a special IMAX screening for the film “Godzilla Minus One” with tickets priced at RM50.00. All films will be presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
For a complete listing of film synopsis, showtimes, and additional information, please visit JFF official website at https://jfklevents.com/japanese-film-festival-2024.
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1*Subject to terms and conditions.
