Following the success of the “Japan Hour 2023” movie festival in early October, the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam (The Japan Foundation) has recently announced the commencement of the “JAPANESE Film FESTIVAL 2023” which will run for two months starting from October 27.

The festival will begin in Ho Chi Minh City (October 27 – November 9) and then move on to Da Nang city (November 17 – 19). In the first week of December, the festival will be held in Hai Phong city (December 1 – 3). The final stop will be at Hanoi (December 8 – 21).

A total of eight films will be screened with Vietnamese and English subtitles. The festival will showcase some of the latest Japanese films, including “The Water Flows To The Sea” and “Liar x Liar.” Movie enthusiasts nationwide can expect a diverse range of genres such as drama, thriller, and romance/comedy.

In particular, the romantic film “We Made a Beautiful Bouquet” (directed by Doi Nobuhiro) has garnered numerous awards in Japan. The story depicts a five-year love affair between a man (Masaki Suda) and a woman (Kasumi Arimura) who first crossed paths by chance at Meidaimae Station in Tokyo when both missed the last train. Their relationship blossoms romantically over time. Kasumi Arimura, the female lead, won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Japanese Academy Film Awards. On an international scale, “We Made a Beautiful Bouquet” was nominated for the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at the 2022 Golden Rooster Award.

The anime film “The First Slam Dunk” is highly anticipated by fans of the “Slam Dunk” series. This manga adaptation is reported to be the 10th highest-grossing anime film and the 16th highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. It was awarded Animation of the Year at the 46th annual Japanese Academy Film Awards.