The Toronto Japanese Film Festival, sponsored by Shiseido Canada, is now in its 11th edition and is set to take place between June 16-30, 2022 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (just off the Wynford DVP exit). The Festival returns to an in-person format this year with screenings slated at the venue’s Kobayashi Hall. Some of the Films to screen haven’t even premiered yet in Japan.

Opening Night film is the Canadian Premiere of THE PASS: LAST DAYS OF THE SAMURAI, directed by Takashi Koizumi, Akira Kurosawa’s Assistant Director on Ran and Kagemusha followed by an exclusive virtual Q&A with the director. Director Koizumi creates classic samurai cinema, replete with gorgeous period costumes, sets and epic battle scenes tell the story of historical figure Tsuginosuke Kawai and the demise of the samurai class. Starring Koji Yakusho, Tatako Matsu, Tatsuya Nakadai

The Closing Night film is the International premiere of Kenji Nakanishi’s DREAMING OF THE MERIDIAN ARC, a light-hearted look at the Edo-period creation of the first map of Japan.

The screening is preceded by a drum performance by the JCCC’s Kyowa Taiko Group.

TJFF is excited to host Director Tetsuo Shinohara who will visit Toronto to introduce the North American premiere of INUBU: THE DOG CLUB, a film combining serious themes of animal rights with an entertaining, sometimes humorous tale of friends in a university veterinary department saving animals from experimentation at a medical facility. Starring Kento Hayashi, Taishi Nakagawa, Sakurako Ohara, Kodai Asaka, Momoko Tanabe. 

Highlights of JFF ’22 lineup of 24 feature films include –

Masaharu Takizaka’s THE LAST GOZE tells the true story of Haru Kobayashi, one of the last “goze” artists. Becoming sightless as an infant at the dawn of the 20th century, Haru’s best option is to become a “goze” – a blind entertainer who travels the countryside singing stories while playing the shamisen. At the height of her career, Haru became one of the most famous performers of her generation, eventually named a Living National Treasures.

Preceded by a shamisen performance by Ten Ten’s Aki Takahashi.

MASQUERADE NIGHT

Takuya Kimura and Masami Nagasawa return in the hit follow-up to Masquerade Hotel. Police detective Nitta and hotel concierge Yamagishi are reunited at the elegant Cortesia Hotel to stop a murder at a New Year’s Eve countdown party with 500 invitees in costume. Can they unveil the truth hidden behind the murderer’s mask in time? A fast-paced, entertaining who-done-it featuring an all-star cast. 

THE LAST TEN YEARS

The North American premiere of Michihito Fuji’s tender, deeply moving story of the transcendent power of love. Matsuri learns she has an incurable disease and only 10 years left to live. She vows not dwell on her condition, to live her best life and, given her life expectancy, she swears not to fall in love. That is, until she goes to a school reunion and meets Kazuto… Starring Nana Komatsu, Kentaro Sakaguchi and Yuki Yamada. 

IT’S A FLICKERING LIFE

Master director Yoji Yamada’s love letter to the golden age of the Japanese film industry based on the novel by popular prize-winning novelist Maha Harada.   This heartwarming tale of love, family and friendship spanning a lifetime was nominated for multiple Japanese Academy Awards including Best Picture. Starring Kenji Sawada, Masaki Suda, Mei Nagano, Nobuko Miyamoto 

LAST OF THE WOLVES

Director Kazuya Shiraishi’s action-packed continuation of the masterful yakuza saga he launched with 2018’s The Blood of Wolves. Detective Hioka has the responsibility of keeping the yakuza gangs in check but bloody war is set to erupt when psychopathic gangster Uebayashi is released from prison vowing to avenge the death of his boss. Nominated for multiple Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film, Director, Actor and Supporting Actor, the film interweaves ferociously violent battles and complex interpersonal drama. Unmissable for fans of the great yakuza films. Starring Tōri Matsuzaka, Nijirō Murakami, Ryōhei Suzuki 

MIDNIGHT SWAN

Winner of the 2021 Japanese Academy Awards for Best Film, Best Lead Performance and Best Newcomer. Nagisa is a transgender woman who moves from Hiroshima to Tokyo to work as a dancer in a nightclub. Her distant niece, Ichika follows her to Tokyo and pursues ballet. Although initially reluctant, Nagisa takes care of Ichika and starts to develop maternal feelings for her for the first time. This powerful and heartrending film features shattering performances by its two leads and shines a light on the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community in Japan. Starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Misaki Hattori. 

RIBBON

The beguiling and imaginative directorial debut from actress Non. It is the winter of 2020, and art student Itsuka can no longer display her graduation project because of the recent outbreak of COVID-19.  Non also wrote this quirky and engaging coming-of-age story that captures that dream-like isolation of the early days of the pandemic while exploring the theme of how we find motivation and purpose when an unseen enemy is intent on robbing us of both. 

JUNK HEAD
Lauded by Guillermo del Toro for its monumental imagination, Junk Head is a visionary masterpiece combining dark themes, grotesque designs and even humour. Takahide Hori’s stop motion animation is the product of seven years of laborious work. Hori was entirely self-taught and essentially created the film himself as director, writer, sculptor, animator and composer.

AND SO THE BATON IS PASSED

The moving story of two young women and their single parents. Yuko and her step-father Morimiya have a warm, almost sibling-like relationship and he tries to make her happy, Mitan’s widowed father flies off to Brazil on a job leaving her in the care of his new bride, the flamboyant Rika. But things soon get complicated… A heartwarming drama full of tears, hope, and sympathy.  Starring Kei Tanaka, Mei Nagano, Satomi Ishihara, Kurumi Inagaki, Kenshi Okada, Nao Omori 

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION 

Did you know Tokyo has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world? Focusing on four of the leading chefs in Japan today, this documentary explores the truth behind Japan’s unique and sophisticated food culture. World-renowned food experts guide the audience through the stories behind the chefs’ endless pursuit of culinary perfection. A fascinating, mouth-watering feature doc fit for foodies and lovers of Japanese culinary culture. Starring Takemasa Shinohara, Natsuko Shoji, Yosuke Suga and Takaaki Sugita 

TJFF is programmed to reflect the rich diversity of the world 4^th largest film industry: premieres include:  Daihachi Yoshida’s KIBA: THE FANGS OF FICTION, fast-paced, exhilarating dissection of the Japanese publishing world; Takahiro Horie’s SENSEI, WOULD YOU SIT BESIDE ME?, the wry and perceptive look at relationships seamlessly blends the artfulness of manga with real, live-action emotions that imitates art that imitates life; Tetsu Maeda’s WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR NEST EGG!? stars two of the greats from Takarazuka theatre, Amami and Kusabue both nominated for Japanese Academy Awards; and Shuichi Okita’s ONE SUMMER STORY, a heartfelt and uplifting coming-of-age anime based on Tajima Rettou’s award winning manga.

Yukiko Sode’s ARISTOCRATS questions how boundaries of class and gender intertwine in a nuanced tale of female friendship; Hugo Sakamoto’s indie action-comedy BABY ASSASSINS;  Takahisa Zeze’s IN THE WAKE,  nominated for Best Film, Best Actor and Supporting Japanese Academy Awards is adapted from popular author Shichiri Nakayama’s best-seller is a taut, intense thriller touching on themes of collective responsibility, the limits of compassion and the stigma surrounding welfare in Japan. 

In Takayuki Hirao’s animated POMPO THE CINEPHILE a famous movie producer gives her young production assistant a chance to direct his first film. Based on the popular webcomic, Masaaki Taniguchi’s MUSICOPHILIA, tells the story of a young man with a special ability to hear sounds from the shapes and colors of objects; and the YA adventure film Takashi Miike’s THE GREAT YOKAI WAR – GUARDIANS, is a grand and hilarious adventure through the world of Japanese myth.

More on tickets here.

We LOVED KNIVES OUT and are so thrilled a follow-up will be out this Holiday Season! Details have been unpeeled about GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY. 🧅

Logline: 
In the follow up to Rian Johnson‘s KNIVES OUT, Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista

More to come.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

We’re actually super-excited to see this! Check-out the new Trailer for upcoming Series BOO, BITCH starring Lana Condor! The Limited Series will be eight episodes at 30 minutes each.

Synopsis:

Boo, Bitch premieres July 8, 2022 only on Netflix.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Spelling Bee of Canada has announced the three winners of the 35th National Championship, which took place Sunday, June 12, 2022 at Beeton Hall in the Toronto Reference Library. Following a series of virtual competitions which have taken place coast-to-coast across Canada, 42 Championship finalists from three age categories made it through to the in-person finals and competed rigorously to win the Championship in their respective categories. Markus Schwabe hosted the event.

Winners include:

Primary (ages 6 to 8)
Name: Anhad Singh
Age: 8
Region: Prairies #1
City: Edmonton, AB
Winning Word: PRELATE

Junior (ages 7 to 9)
Name: Kavya Senthil
Age: 10
Region: Central West Ontario #4,
Simcoe County &York Region
City: Markham, ON
Winning work: ECOSYSTEM

Intermediate (ages 12 to 14)
Name: Ryaan Khan
Age: 14
Region: Atlantic
City: Bedford, NS
Winning Word: PRELAPSARIAN

(Photo credit: Spelling Bee of Canada)

Intangible Adorations Caravan (IAC), recently backed by ArtworksTO, features a Cast of Artists from all walks of life who have either hidden or visible disabilities, and features double below-knee Amputee and Aerialist, Erin Ball. The Creator, Lisa Anita Wegner (IMDB), is a Toronto-born meta-gender filmmaker, producer and storyteller with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Lisa’s Caravan is an immersive, travelling theatrical & film experience that fuses Carnival with science-fantasy biography, performance ritual, circus and disability culture. When the Caravan rolls into a neighbourhood as darkness falls, mysterious magics will be unleashed in a spectacle suitable for all ages as we attempt to make contact with the Icon, a legendary figure who vanished several years ago. A multi-sensory interactive experience with robust accessibility built into each performance.

There will be a free pop-up show at Queen West‘s Lisgar Park on June 15, 2022 at 9PM, Lisa’s Caravan is an immersive travelling performance that fuses carnival with biography, circus, and disability culture. A flat-bed truck will pull up to unexpected public locales across Toronto and perform for a runtime of about an hour.

An Overview:

Learn more here.

Funnyman Hasan Minhaj brought his The King’s Jester Tour to Toronto, playing not one but FOUR shows at Coca Cola Colisseum over two nights. Minhaj has the distinction of being the first Comedian ever to play four shows at that venue, situated on Canadian National Exhibition grounds. And the fans were taking to Twitter after the Shows to express their love after having had their phones locked away on arrival.

Known best for his work on The Daily Show as a Senior Correspondent, and also his acclaimed Netflix Series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, he is a regular on the Just for Laughs Festival circuit, and his Toronto fans made noise after noticing they were excluded originally. Most recently he was seen on Season Two of Apple TV+‘s hit Series THE MORNING SHOW.

So happy we got to meet Minhaj during his visit, and he was so cool, slipping-on his shades for the Snap. Love him! If you missed him, worry not. He’s actually going to be back in Toronto again early July at the CCYAA Celebrity Classic with Simu Liu and Jeremy Lin! Details on that here. There are a few other events linked to the game, so who knows if he’ll show up to those as well!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Primetime EMMY and SAG Award winner Bradley Whitford is no stranger to Toronto, having been hard at work on Hulu’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, joining the acclaimed Series since its second season as Commander Joseph Lawrence. His celebrated body of work needs no introduction: The West Wing, Transparent, Get Out, Tick, Tick… Boom! are perfect showcases for his immense talent.

So jealous that he’s been spotted around town, but I finally had my own sighting of him as he was out enjoying a quiet dinner by himself! And he was so amazingly nice, stopping for a Snap walking on-foot. And look how matchy we are! No fancy SUV or Driver as you might think someone of his stature would have. He’s casual and we love it! Honourary Torontonian!

Whitford next can be seen with Kaitlyn Dever in upcoming Hulu/Disney+ release ROSALINE. The Film is an updated take on Romeo & Juliet, told through Juliet‘s cousin’s eyes. Cannot wait!

(Photo credit: Hulu/Mr. Will Wong)

We always welcome new Lizzo! The Goddess herself has teamed with Pop Legends Benny Blanco, Max Martin and more on new Summer banger GRRRLS, pumping us up for her upcoming Album, SPECIAL! The Song is a celebration of the female bond. We’ve loved every track we’ve heard so far off this Album. It’s going to be ICONIC!

Warner Music Canada release SPECIAL on July 15, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Music Canada)

It’s the definitive story behind Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the beloved Toy Story character, and its set to win the hearts of Moviegoers this Summer. Disney and Pixar‘s LIGHTYEAR features the voice of Chris Evans and we were so thrilled to sit down in a Virtual Press Junket for the Film.

Participating at the Junket, which our Justin Waldman had the pleasure of attending, were:

Angus MacLane who co-directed Finding Dory, talks about developing and pitching the idea of this Film.

MacLane: “The idea came to me because I always wanted to know about the backstory of the Space Rangers, Star Command and Buzz Lightyear – what the Movie is for that. I also wanted to make something that was fun to make after doing Dory, which was fun but it was really challenging when you have a protagonist that’s always forgetting everything about what they want. So I thought, why don’t we make a cool Sci-Fi Movie? That’s the way I pitched it. What’s the Movie that Andy (the boy in Toy Story) saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear figure? Why don’t we just make something awesome, that’s simple like that? Just make that geeky Buzz Lightyear movie and just make an adventure of that? That was the simple idea we sold to the Studio.”.

Michael Giacchino oversaw the Film’s Score and talks about his childhood and what Disney films meant to him growing-up.

Giacchino: “These are the movies I grew-up on. I pretty much was raised on them. One of the things I used to do was sneak a small tape recorder into the theatre so that I could – when I was a kid – record the Movie Audio so that I could have the audience response – all of that on it – and I would listen to it. There was no internet when I was growing up. That was the only way for me to experience that Movie again out of the theatre, was to listen to it. I would record them and at home every night I would play them under my pillow because I loved to listen how the Sound works in these movies. And how Music worked with Sound Effects and Dialogue and all of that. It’s ingrained in my head in a massive way. If someone asked me at 12-years-old, ‘Hey! You get to make your own one of these things. What do you want to do with it?’. I’m like, ‘Great! I would do THIS!’. That’s what I love so much about working with Angus. Often we’d get sidelined into these crazy conversations about a Movie from a certain era or a Character Actor from certain era. We have so much love for what came before and what introduced us to everything we’re now playing with today.”.

Star Chris Evans is asked about how he brought something new to a character we all love and adore so much already in Buzz Lightyear.

Evans: “I loved getting to explore a Character we all know so well and in a slightly more nuanced interpretation. The Buzz we all know is a toy and as a toy there are certain ways they go about the world without the weight that we carry. A toy knows its purpose, a toy doesn’t have to worry about disease or the choices that we have to make.”.

Evans also talks about his relationship with Buzz Lightyear before being cast in this Film, plus he reveals which other Disney Character he would love to play.

Evans: “I love Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story. When Toy Story came out, it kicked the doors down in terms of a new approach to the Medium, so I was thrilled and excited to know there was more to come. I love all the characters in Toy Story deeply. If there were another character to play, I don’t think I could pull it off. But I am a big an of Robin Hood, the old animated Disney Film. I just thought Robin Hood was so cool. When I think of all the Animated Characters in the Disney library, Robin Hood stands alone. He’s smooth, charming and capable, and I don’t have that cool British accent, but I’d love a crack!”.

Keke Palmer tells us about connecting to her Character, Izzy Hawthorne, discovering who she was and what she cared about most.

Palmer: “Her love for her grandmother Alisha, and the legacy she wants to uphold. She wants to make her family proud and I think that’s something we can all relate to. And the fact that she’s not afraid to pivot. I really admire that about her. I feel she displays so many great leadership qualities because sometimes she gets overshadowed. She knows how to push her friends forward, and she knows how to see something in somebody so that they can carry out their duties. She empowers others and I love the character.”.

Taika Waititi stars as Mo Morisson, who is more understated than some of the other characters he’s played in his career. He has made Marvel films as we all know, but he talks about how he approaches Pixar films differently.

Waititi: “I think with Pixar especially, it’s the relentless pursuit of a perfect Story. I go back to them time and time again not just for entertainment or to feel something emotional, but I got back to study how they structure their Films and the Economy of Storytelling, the way that they write their Scripts. And knowingly, they just get it right every time. So I’m not afraid to rip-off those practices that they use, because it’s inspiring as a Filmmaker to see these guys make these perfect films every time.”.

Screen Legend James Brolin talks about that resonated most with him with the Film.

Brolin: “I walked in, didn’t know who I am or what my lines were, so that was a tough one. I saw an unfinished, unpolished version of the Film without Music, and actually realized then that my Character was much more complex than that I had imagined. Even at this point I’m not supposed to tell you everything that Zurg is. Certainly multiple personalities and a Con Man. And could I say even a Shrink and an Alter-Ego? There’s so many things to learn from this Movie. There’s a lot of messages about how we approach things and how we solve our problems, and how we avoid them.”.

Peter Sohn talks about Sox the Cat‘s scene-stealing performance here and if he foresees a Spinoff.

Sohn: “I don’t want any of that burden! What are you talking about? The curse of that burden. I love Sox and I’ve been real lucky hanging-out with all of you right now, doing this process has been awesome.”.

Dale Soules talks about her thoughts on a potential Spinoff for Darby Steel.

Soules: “I’d like to see more Darby and Sox and their own adventure. I love Sox, though you don’t see that part of her very much. There’s an expression on the face of the animated Darby when Buzz thanks her and says ‘Nice job, elderly convict’. There’s a look on her face that says what I’d like to see more of. It’s not sentimental, mushy but it’s more like, ‘Okay, I gotcha. I hear you.’. I’d like to see more of that attitude in the Series.”.

Disney and Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR arrives in theatres June 17, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Disney and Pixar)

JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION completely dominates the Box Office in its debut with $142 million from 4,676 theatres for Universal PIctures. This latest installment gets 31% on the Tomatometer. The biggest opening for the Franchise still belongs to 2015’s Jurassic World with $202 million.

Knocked off its throne is TOP GUN: MAVERICK which still is going well with $50 million from 4,262 theatres in its third weekend for Paramount Pictures, taking it to $393 million thus far domestically.

Third spot goes to DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS with $5 million from 3,345 theatres for Disney, a total $398 million grossed.

Landing in fourth is THE BAD GUYS with $2.4 million for Universal Pictures, taking its run to $91.6 million.

THE BOB’S BURGERS MOVIE closes out the Top Five with $2 million in its third weekend for 20th Century Fox, a total $26.75 million.