Japanese Film Festival 2025 Set To Thrill Malaysian Movie-goers

KUALA LUMPUR,  Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The Japanese Film Festival 2025 (JFF 2025) is set to return with a vibrant lineup that include culinary-themed films and classics such as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

Showcasing the richness of Japanese cinema and culture, the festival will screen 13 films and is expected to attract over 10,000 movie-goers nationwide.

The festival is organised by The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, and will run from Sept 10 to Oct 19 at selected GSC cinemas.

Director of The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, Tsukamoto Norhisa, said the festival this year will focus on attracting viewers to good Japanese films with themes that have not yet been widely discovered by movie-goers.

“For instance, we are introducing movies with Japanese culinary features that highlight the many aspects of Japanese culture to the world. 

“Over the years, the festival has grown to be more than just a space to watch Japanese films but also a space for cultural and knowledge exchange between Malaysia and Japan,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday in conjunction with the festival’s preview.

The month-long festival will be held in the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.

Tickets for JFF 2025 are priced at RM10 except for The Solitary Gourmet, which will be sold at the prevailing cinema rate through GSC channels. All films will be screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

The festival opens with Sunset Sunrise, winner of the Audience Choice Award at Chicago’s 2025 Asian Pop-up Cinema.

Over the past two decades, JFF has attracted more than 200,000 festival-goers. It has showcased 215 films by 127 directors, and hosted 11 fringe events across five states and regions.

-- BERNAMA