Event: Back to the Future: Japanese Cinema Since the Mid-90s
Venue: Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH
+ others When: 4-13 Feb 2011 in London, then until 28 March 2011.

Now in its 8th year, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme focuses on the marked resurgence of Japanese cinema from the mid 1990s onwards. With a series of works from seven key directors who have carved a new path for the future and contributed to the recent success of Japanese cinema around the world, the 2011 line-up provides UK audiences with an insight into a pivotal period which changed the landscape of Japanese cinema and provided a once great industry with a new lease of life.

The titles in this year’s line-up are among the finest examples from key Japanese directors of this period, popular both at home and abroad, such as Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, alongside directors like Isao Yukisada and Isshin Inudo who have been highly successful within the domestic market in Japan but are less recognised overseas. Also included are representatives from a younger generation of directors including Yuya Ishii who is part of a new stream of talent to watch out for in the future.

As well as inspiring the beginnings of a new era of Japanese cinema, these directors all continue to work, and remain a part of the future of Japanese cinema. Though the selected works may be less well-known in the UK, they are all key works in the development of their respective director’s career, they also serve to illustrate the development of contemporary Japanese cinema and help to exhibit a great breadth of creativity.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is organised by the Japan Foundation with advice from Jasper Sharp.

Also at BELFAST, BRISTOL, EDINBURGH, NOTTINGHAM and SHEFFIELD
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