Friday, September 12, 2014
Japanese films to screen at Albany each month
Afficionados of Japanese films will now get the chance to indulge their passion, with new monthly screenings to be held
at the Albany campus. The first screening will be held on October 6 in the Atrium Round Room.
Campus registrar Andrea Davies says hosting the films at Albany is a great opportunity for the local community to visit
the campus, and become part of campus life.
“We love the chance to celebrate our diverse community, and being able to offer free Japanese films on campus is another
step in making the Albany campus feel more like the local university that people can visit regularly,” she says. “With
our new student accommodation village opening on campus next year, this will also add to the lively atmosphere for
students and the wider community to enjoy.”
Consul-General of Japan in Auckland Mr Kazutoshi Inadome says he is also excited to present the films to the community.
“I am always delighted to see how interested New Zealanders are in Japan. It is absolutely fantastic that we are now
able to offer film screenings to the people around the Albany campus and the North Shore. I hope that people will really
enjoy watching the films, and through them gain insight into Japanese culture.”
The free films, brought to New Zealand with kind permission from The Japan Foundation and the Consulate-General of
Japan, will screen in Japanese and feature English subtitles. They will screen at Albany on the first Monday of the
month, starting at 6.30 pm in the Atrium Round Room. Preceding the main feature is a 15-minute documentary on life and
culture in Japan, which starts at 6.15 pm. No bookings are required to attend.
The films are also shown at the University of Waikato on the second or third Thursday of the month and at the University
of Auckland on the last Thursday of the month.
The first film,Osaka Hamlet, is a collection of stories by the popular manga artist Morishita Hiromi. Known for her ‘Shonen Ashibe” and other manga
strips, her work has been transformed into an affecting live-action comedy.
The second film screening will be held on November 3, featuring the beloved animated film Ponyo, and then the screenings will go on hiatus until February 2015.
For more information on the film schedule, go to: http://www.auckland.nz.emb-japan.go.jp/culture/film_show.htm
Osaka Hamlet (2009)
Director: Fujiro Mitsuishi
Time: 107 minutes
Rating: PG
Cast: Keiko Matsuzaka, Ittoku Kishibe
Award-winning stories about Osaka dwellers. After their father’s sudden death, the cheerful, hard-working Fusako is
holding together the Kubo family of three growing sons. Then a mysterious man appears, claiming to be the dead father’s
younger brother, and the easygoing Fusako lets him move in.
The sons are perplexed by this unexpected development, but Masaji, the eldest, a very mature 9th-grader, falls in love
with a college student, while the semi-tough second son, Yukio, begins to have doubts about his biological parents.
Meanwhile, the youngest, grade-schooler Koki tells his classmates he wants to become a girl and earns their ridicule. It
is clear the boys have troubles enough to fill their days.
Event Details
Venue: Atrium Round Room
Time: 6.15 for the pre-film documentary, 6.30 for the main feature
Cost: Admission is free
Parking: is free and available on campus
Maps of the Albany campus are available here: http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/student-life/about-our-campuses/albany-campus/maps-and-transport/maps-transport-and-parking.cfm
ENDS