JFF arrives in Dublin

The Japanese Film Festival is bringing screenings of some of the best new films from Japan all across Ireland, and from today the Dublin leg of this year’s festival begins in Dublin. All through April JFF are screening feature films across Cork, Dundalk, Dublin, Bray, Waterford, Ballina, Galway, Wexford and Sligo. That includes fourteen new and classic films screening at the Light House Cinema from 10 – 17 April.

JFF 2025 kicked off on 1st April and with the help of The Embassy of Japan in Ireland and access>CINEMA
the festival continues to bring audiences a wide variety of Japanese films – from award-winning dramas and anime hits to delightful comedies and indie gems to Irish film fans. This year’s edition includes the Hayao Miyazaki feature debut Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, the fantasy comedy A Samurai In Time, and the acclaimed Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest offbeat thriller Cloud.

This evening JFF arrives at the Light House with Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s documentary The Making of a Japanese. The film follows two sets of students filmed during the pandemic – first graders and sixth graders – over the course of a year in a Tokyo public elementary school.

In Cloud, Yoshii is determined to make his fortune ‘reselling’ in – demand goods such as electronics, anime figurines and video games. After a few successful deals, he quits his job to become a full – time reseller. He also starts making riskier bets – including buying & selling counterfeit goods and pressuring some producers into taking disadvantageous deals. However, it isn’t long before his actions come back to haunt him, as familiar faces and strangers alike start ominou sly lurking around his home… Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ( Cure , Tokyo Sonata ) new thriller is a bold and unpredictable film that artfully crosses and blurs genre lines.

A Best Film winner at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony, A Samurai in Time is a time-travel comedy-drama that promises to charm audiences. During the Edo period, a samurai is transported to the present day, mistaken for a film extra, and navigates the world of movie production while maintaining his authenticity.