FILMS

Thu Apr 27, 6:15 p.m. / Fri Apr 28, 9:00 p.m.

Close-Knit

彼らが本気で編むときは、

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Opening Film / Swiss Premiere / Drama
★Special guest: Director Naoko Ogigami on Thursday screening
2017, 127min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Rinko is a transgender woman with a heart of gold.
Her boyfriend Makio was captivated by her heart and accepts her for who she is.
And a lonely girl named Tomo suddenly appeared in their life.
This is the story of sixty heartwarming days in the life of these three individuals who each find their own happiness amid the blooming cherry blossoms of spring.


Fri Apr 28, 9:20 p.m. / Sat Apr 29, 6:50 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 4:40 p.m.

Yakuza and Constitution

ヤクザと憲法

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International Premiere / Documentary
★ Special guest: Director Koji Hijikata on Friday & Saturday screenings
2016, 96min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Since the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Act and Yakuza exclusion ordinances, the number of Yakuza members reduced to less than 60,000. In the past 3 years, about 20,000 members have left from Yakuza organizations.
However, just numbers can’t tell you the reality. What are they thinking, how are they living now?
The camera zooms in on the Yakuza world. Are there basic human rights for them?


Sat Apr 29, 4:20 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 6:50 p.m.

The Projects

団地
Swiss Premiere / Drama / Comedy

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Director: Junji Sakamoto
★ Special guest: Actor Hiroaki Ogasawara
2016, 103min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Hinako and Seiji close up their herbal remedy store and move to a housing project called “Danchi” in Osaka for mysterious reasons. Their neighbors are curious about them and develop more suspicions when one day Seiji suddenly disappears.
Then a strange man shows up…


Sat Apr 29, 9:20 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 9:20 p.m.

Over the Fence

オーバーフェンス

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Swiss Premiere / Drama
Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
2016, 112min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Shiraiwa is a man who neglected his family. After his wife deserts him, he leaves Tokyo and goes back to his hometown, Hakodate City. He was living on unemployment benefits while attending vocational school where many unique “students” learn.
One day, his classmate Daijima takes him to a club, where he meets a strange, young hostess imitating a bird.
Shiraiwa is immediately drawn by this beauty with a dark side….

Fri Apr 28, 9:10 p.m. / Sat Apr 29, 7:00 p.m.

FAKE

フェイク

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Swiss Premiere / Documentary
Director: Tatsuya Mori
2016, 111min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Mamoru Samuragochi, a self-taught classical composer with a degenerative condition causing deafness, was celebrated as a “Japanese Beethoven” for the digital age.
He became the center of a media pandemonium when claims of his deceit hit the news.
A part-time university lecturer Takashi Niigaki revealed that he had served as the composer’s ghostwriter for 18 years. Director Mori approaches and befriends the supposed hoaxer and his wife in hiding.
The truth is unveiled. – Or is it?


Fri Apr 28, 7:00 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 4:30 p.m.

Dryads in a Snow Valley

風の波紋

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Swiss Premiere / Documentary
Director: Shigeru Kobayashi
2015, 99min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

“I used to think that village life was too tough to bear but now it’s a lot of fun.” says Mr. Kogure, one of the people who moved from Tokyo to snowy rural Japan. The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami shook the area, damaging many houses including Kogure. The local officials advised him that the damage was beyond repair but he refuses to be discouraged.
Quietly he sets about restoring the buildings with determination.
With the arrival of winter the whole village is buried under 4 meters of snow.
The village is frozen over but Kogure and his friends know how to enjoy life.


Sat Apr 29, 9:30 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 9:10 p.m.

At the Terrace

テラスにて

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Swiss Premiere / Drama / Comedy
Director: Kenji Yamauchi
2016, 95min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

In a Tokyo suburb, a party is winding down at an ostentatious mansion surrounded by greenery.
A gaunt, middle-aged man barely recovered from a serious illness, an awkward company employee, the hosts’ likable son, who comes home late – each of the men on the terrace are captivated by Haruko’s pale, white arms, inflaming the jealousy of the company director’s cleavage-flaunting wife.
Literary anecdotes abound, as does petty bickering. The masks they’ve carefully crafted are suddenly torn away, exposing their tainted humanity. Desires, jealousies and secrets are laid bare during 90 minutes on the terrace.


Fri Apr 28, 6:50 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 2:20 p.m.

An Eden for Two

ふたりの桃源郷

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International Premiere / Documentary
Director: Akira Sasaki
2016, 87min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

After World War 2, Japan experienced an economic boom, and became a wealthy society.
Torao and his wife Fusako fought against the materialism, choosing otherwise to live deep in the mountains without electricity, a telephone, or plumbing. Soon after Torao returned home from the battlefields of World War 2, they bought a mountain near their home village.
Together, they cultivated the rugged terrain in order to live their lives there. The camera followed them for 25 years and reveal how they lived their mountain life.


Fri Apr 28, 6:40 p.m. / Sat Apr 29, 2:00 p.m.

Three Lights

三つの光

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Swiss Premiere / Drama
Director: Kohki Yoshida
2017, 100min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

In an abandoned warehouse district, a single unit remains lit. Surrounded by mountains of musical instruments, Masaki sits alone working on a music piece. His friend, K, could be found at his side from time to time. The unit was once used as a music studio. Now, not a soul comes but the two young men. The kindergarten teacher, Aoi and Michiko, a housewife begin to distance themselves from their normal lives, and eventually meet. The unlikely group become utterly engrossed by one another, and begin to form a mysterious community.


Sat Apr 29, 2:30 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 2:30 p.m.

Tama Gra Kodomo–Anime

多摩美術大学グラフィックデザイン学科 子どもアニメ

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Tama Art University presents: Animation for Children
2017, 67min, no dialogue

2016_1125

Tama Art University Department of Graphic Design presents «Tama Gra Kodomo Anime» for the second time at GINMAKU!
The university produces unique animation films every year.
13 short animation films were handpicked for “Kodomo (children)” and families – all of them are without dialogue.


Sat Apr 29, 4:30 p.m. / Sun Apr 30, 7:00 p.m.

Tama Gra Otona–Anime

多摩美術大学グラフィックデザイン学科 大人アニメ

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Tama Art University presents: Animation for Adults
2017, 70min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Tama Art University Department of Graphic Design presents «Tama Gra Otona Anime» for the very first time at GINMAKU! The university produces unique animation films every year. 17 short animation films created by students around 25 y.o. were handpicked not only for animation film lovers but also for every Japan interested “Otona (adult)” audiences.
How do young aspiring animators create their own world with animation?


Mon May 1, 5:00 p.m.

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle

リップヴァンウィンクルの花嫁

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Closing Film / Swiss Premiere / Drama
Director: Shunji Iwai
2016, 179min, Japanese with English subtitles

2016_1125

Nanami is an apathetic, part-time junior high school teacher, whose only solace comes from connecting with others on “Planet”, a new social network service. She marries a man she met online, but the marriage ends when she is falsely accused of infidelity.
Self-proclaimed all around fixer Amuro saves her by introducing her to peculiar jobs and individuals. Nanami starts to open up to the world and eventually befriends Mashiro but…


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