In previous years, the festival was
held primarily at Bockenheimer Campus, but this
year the festival moved for the first time to a series of buildings in the
northeastern sector of Frankfurt, with its base of operations in the
Mousonturm, near Merianplatz. This year
featured 21 live-action features and 8 animated works, along with assorted other short films, documentaries, tributes, and
mini-series. Cultural events included
a karaoke night, questionnaires with featured filmmakers, a manga-drawing
class, a cooking class, a kimono class, a swordsmanship class, and a Zen
meditation workshop. Sadly, that last
one was the only event my work schedule (and wallet) allowed me to take part in. These cinematic and cultural experiences are loosely divided into four categories; Nippon Cinema (for traditional movies filmed on celluloid), Nippon Visions (for films produced digitally), Nippon Culture (for the cultural activities), and Nippon Kids (various activities and movies specifically for the children in attendance).
Nippon provides the sort of
multilingual, international experience that I absolutely love seeing- German
natives, local Japanese expats, and visitors/guests from all over the world conversed interchangeably in German, Japanese, and English. The various programs, ads, and flyers were
also trilingual. Movies were screened
primarily in the original Japanese with English subtitles, and were also
introduced by the organizers in English.
The biggest hubbub, as stated above, was in the Mousonturm- stands sold
assorted Japanese drinks and foods (my favorite dish was Onigiri, rice-balls stuffed
with various meats), along with merchandise from major manga and film franchises. Little Japanese hand-fans were freely
available. Tables sold the shirts, DVDs,
soundtracks, and other souvenirs that help make Nippon a possibility. The second floor of the
building featured a massive WiiU gamer’s corner (which I did not have the
chance to try out, sad to say).
Special mention must be made of staff at Nippon Connection, who all volunteer their time freely to help organize and run the week-long event. Their friendliness and their dedication to making the festival function added immeasurably to the memorable atmosphere.
In addition to providing a wonderful
experience overall, Nippon also lets those who attend the screenings rate the
films eligible for one of the top prizes of the festival- the Nippon Connection
Award for the most popular film within the Nippon Cinema category. The NCA this year was awarded to Key of Life, which, for reasons I will
delve into in my full review of the movie, is currently my new favorite film of
2013. Another prize, the Nippon Visions Award (presented by a jury), was awarded to Ian Thomas
Ash, an American resident of Japan, for his documentary feature A2, about the aftereffects of the
Fukushima meltdown. Winners of this award receive receive free English subtitles for their next film. The third award, the VGF Nippon in Motion Award (financed by VGF, Frankfurt's main transportation company), was presented to Michael Herber and Liwen Shen for their 12-second short.
I was personally able to view four
of the films presented at the festival- The
Life of Budori Gusuko, Key of Life,
Asura (pronounced “Ashura”), and Thermae Romae, movies about as far apart
on the spectrum of theme, mood, and content as it gets. Since all of the films were quite interesting,
and some of them absolutely fantastic, I have dispensed with my initial plan to
just write mini-reviews for them and will instead give them each the full-length
reviews they deserve. Stay tuned.
-Noah
Franc
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