Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Montreal World Film Festival 2016

On Tuesday August 16, 2016, the Montreal World Film Festival broke its silence and revealed through a couple of press releases the line-up of the World Competition and First Feature Competition as well as their Jurys' members. The programmation of other sections will be unveiled later on.

In a Le Devoir article (August 5th: Mystères entourant la 40e édition du FFM), we learned that less than a month before the beginning of the festival, it was suffering from lack of financing and no venue had been booked yet to hold the screenings. However, a more recent article (August 16th: Le Festival des films du monde à minuit moins cinq) told us that the usual venue of Cineplex Quartier Latin would be replaced this year by the Cineplex Cinema Forum, because road works are blocking the access to the Quartier Latin.


The 40th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival will take place from August 25th to September 5th 2016, at the Imperial (1430 Bleury - Metro Place des Arts) and Cineplex Cinema Forum (2313 St. Catherine St. West Suite 101 - Metro Atwater) theatres. For more details you can check the festival website: www.ffm-montreal.org.

Saturday the festival has released the screenings’ complete schedule [PDF]. They have also posted the screening schedule for each section of the festival: World Competition, First Films World Competition, Focus on the World Cinema, Documentaries, Turkish Film Tribute, Hangzhou Film Week, and the Special Chinese Film Festival. (But what about the “World Great” section?). [updated 2016-08-20]

You can also check our festival coverage of the previous years:

WARNING: The festival is in jeopardy. Please read this report for details. [updated: 2016/08/24]

WARNING: The movies will be shown ONLY at the Imperial Cinema, but the schedule has CHANGED! A new schedule has been posted on the festival website. [updated: 2016/08/25]

WARNING: The schedule keeps changing so please check it day by day[updated: 2016/08/26]

You can also check our daily updates of the festival: Day 1, Day 1.2, Day 2, Day 3, Extra update (Day off), Day 4 and our festival wrap-up.

I have also added some of the video I've filmed at the festival: FFM Video 1 (also available on Vimeo: Tatara Samurai Red carpet, Tatara Samurai Intro and Q&A, Isabelle Adjani red carpet).

Finally, you can read the comments about the FFM's Japanese movies from my esteemed colleague Claude R. Blouin on Shomingeki.

You will find, after the jump, a list of all Japanese movies announced so far (of course, more details and links will be added as the information become available).

[Updated: 2016/08/18, 2016/08/20, 2016/08/24, 2016/08/25, 2016/08/26, 2016-08-30, 2016-08-31, 2016-09-04, 2016-09-09, 2016-09-19]

[ Traduire ]


World Competition / Film en compétition

  • Good Morning Show (グッドモーニングショー / Guddo Moningu Sho): Japan, 2016, 103 min.; Dir./Scr.: Ryoichi Kimizuka; Cast: Kiichi Nakai, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Shida, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kento Hayashi, Zen Kajiwara, Haruka Kinami, Shunsuke Daitô, Gaku Hamada, Yô Yoshida, Yutaka Matsushige, Saburô Tokitô.

    Short synopsis: The morning variety show, a staple of television around the world, offers news and entertainment but TV host Shingo didn’t expect to be himself the source of the news and entertainment.

    Schedule: Sat 09/03 09h00 CI; Sat 09/03 19h00 CI; Sun 09/04 13h20 F4; Sun 09/04 17h30 CI.


  • Tatara Samurai (たたら侍): Japan, 2016, 135 min.; Dir.: Yoshinari Nishikori; Phot.: Akira Sako; Mus.: Seikou Nagaoka; Cast: Shun Sugata, Denden, Masahiko Tsugawa.

    Short synopsis: When the Amago samurai withdraw their protection of the village of Tatara, famous for their manufacture of the legendary swords, the younger generation -- erroneously -- believe that guns will suffice.

    Schedule: Mon 08/29 11h30 CI; Mon 08/29 18h40 CI; Tue 08/30 13h20 F4.


First Feature Competition / Compétition des premières oeuvres

  • A loving husband ( 恋妻家宮本 / Koisaika Miyamoto): Japan, 2016, 117 min.; Dir./Scr.: Kazuhiko Yukawa (based on the novel by Kiyoshi Shigematsu); Cast: Yûki Amami (Miyoko), Hiroshi Abe (Yohei).

    Short synopsis: Schoolteacher Yohei is married to Miyoko. For the first time in 25 years they begin to live by themselves when their son marries and moves out. Then Yohei discovers that all’s not well in his marriage.

    Schedule: Sat 09/03 19h10 F10; Sun 09/04 19h10 F10; Mon 09/05 19h10 F7; Sat 09/03 13h00 CI.


World Great (Out of Competition) / Hors-concours

  • Black Widow Business (後妻業 の 女 / Gosaigyō no onna / lit. "Woman of the second wife industry") : Japan, 2016, 128 min.; Dir./Scr.: Yasuo Tsuruhashi (based on the novel by Hiroyuki Kurokawa); Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Masatô Ibu, Machiko Ono.

    Short synopsis: With 4000 matchmaking agencies across Japan serving some 600,000 clients, especially men and women over 65, the pickings are ripe for “black widows”. But the daughter of one victim decides to investigate.

    Schedule: Tue 08/30 16h30 CI; Wed 08/31 16h10 F10; Fri 09/02 19h00 F6; Mon 09/05 14h20 CI; Tue 08/30 19h40 CI.


Focus on World Cinema / Regards sur les Cinéma du Monde

  • Her Love Boils Bathwater (湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 / Yu wo wakasuhodo no atsui ai): Japan, 2016, 125 min.; Dir./Scr.: Ryota Nakano; Cast: Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Yukiko Shinohara, Taro Suruga, Aoi Ito, Tori Matsuzaka, Joe Odagiri.

    Short synopsis: When Futaba, matriach of the Sachino family, learns that she has only a little time left in this world, she draws up a list of things that must be done before she goes.

    Schedule: Fri 08/26 13h40 F10; Sat 08/27 16h10 F10; Wed 08/31 21h10 F8; Sat 09/03 21h30 CI.


  • Hold my hand (手をつないでかえろうよ シャングリラの向こうで / Te wo Tsunaide Kaeroyo — Shangurira no Mukou de / lit. “In the other side of the Let's go home hand in hand Shangri-La”) : Japan, 2016, 105 min.; Dir.: Yoko Narahashi; Scr.: Masayuki Imai; Cast: Tetsuya Bessho, Itsuji Itao, Jay Kabira, Katsuya, Sumire Matsubara, Masahiro Nakai, Nanami.

    Short synopsis: Makoto has a learning disability but dreams of becoming a truck driver. He falls in love with Sakura, a girl who has a similar disability and wants to become a dancer.

    Schedule: Wed 08/31 11h20 F10; Fri 09/02 21h30 F7; Sat 09/03 13h40 F7.


  • The Seal of the Sun (太陽 の 蓋 / Taiyō no futa) : Japan, 2016, 130 min.; Dir.: Futoshi Sato; Scr.: Takashi Hasegawa; Phot.: Yukio Komiya; Prod.: Kaoru Ohtsuka; Cast: Yukiya Kitamura, Kenji Anan, Sota Aoyama.

    Short synopsis: At 2:46 PM on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experiences a black out due to the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

    Schedule: Mon 08/29 11h10 F6; Thu 09/01 21h30 F10; Mon 09/05 17h00 CI; Fri 08/26 19h00 CI.

    See our comments on this movie and the video of the crew's intro.



  • Documentaries / Documentaires

    • Frozen Fireworks: The Legendary Japanese Model Sayoko Yamaguchi (氷の花火 山口小夜子 / Kori no hanabi Yamaguchi Sayoko / lit. “Ice of fireworks Sayoko Yamaguchi”) : Japan, 2016, 97 min.; Dir.: Takako Matsumoto; Prod.: OHO Sayuki; Phot.: KISHIDA Masao; Ed.: MAEJIMA Kenji; Sound: TAKAGI Hajime ; Mus.: HISAMOTO Yukina; Cast: YAMAGUCHI Sayoko, Serge LUTENS, MARUYAMA Keita.

      Short synopsis: A documentary portrait of Yamaguchi Sayoko, Asia’s first “top model”, via rare footage and testimony of friends and professional acquaintances.

      Schedule: Wed 08/31 13h40 F7; Thu 09/01 21h30 F7; Fri 09/02 19h10 F7.


    • Ken san (健さん) : Japan, 2016, 95 min.; Dir.: Yuchi Hibi; Phot.: Yoshihisa Toda; Ed.: Miyuki Ohgata; Mus.: Tarô Iwashiro.

      Short synopsis: KEN SAN pieces together the puzzle of the life and legacy of Japan's mythical acting icon, Ken Takakura. Collaborators, friends and family share intimate stories of Ken's journey.

      Schedule: Wed 08/31 19h10 F7; Thu 09/01 13h40 F7; Sat 09/04 16h10 F7.


    • Tsukiji Wonderland (築地ワンダーランド) : Japan, 2016, 116 min.; Dir.: Naotaro Endo.

      Short synopsis: A day at Tokyo's Tsukiji Market, the biggest wholesale seafood market in the world, for a fascinating view of the seafood business during the ramshackle 80-year-old complex's last year of operation.

      Schedule: Sun 08/28 16h00 F6; Thu 09/01 19h00 F6; Sat 09/03 21h20 F6.


    Shorts / Courts métrages

    • O-bento : Japan, 22 min.; Dir.: Motoyuki Itabashi.

      Schedule: Mon 08/29 11h30 F20, Tue 08/30 14h00 F20.

    Movies Under the Stars / Cinéma à la belle étoile

    • Karakara : Canada / Japan, 2012, 100 min.; Dir.: Claude Gagnon; Cast: Gabriel Arcan, Youki Kudoh.

      Schedule: Mon 09/05 20h30 outdoor.

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