While always cherishing our big theme “Life, Art, Film,” UPAF also sets a mini-theme each time based on what’s important in the world, and curates several films accordingly. After the pandemic, the world we live in today is wrapped in dark clouds of war and division. We have set the mini-theme of the 10th UPAF to be “Palestine” and plan to screen 5-6 films with high artistic values and strong historicities. We plan to program them in chronological order so that viewers will be able to grasp Palestine’s history since 1948. Some context explanations will be provided if desired. We want to ponder with our viewers why the US and UK continue to support Israel government’s military actions against civilians in Palestine, and how we as Japanese are related to that power map of the world. Besides that mini-theme, we want to bring films from the countries that many foreign workers in Japan are from, to help ourselves to understand our non-Japanese neighbors a bit more. We will also have the Japanese Short Film Program with the works selected from this year’s call for entries.
Please note: most of the films this year request to geo-block the online screenings to Japan only. Many of them may be available in your countries -Please check them out!
Palestine's History on Cinema: Nakba, 1948 Encore Streaming Feb 1 - Feb 7! (Japan-only streaming) Purchase your 2/1-7 encore streaming ticket here. You can view the film anytime during th streaming period. Ticket sale will end @22:00 on Feb 7 (Sun). Please also note that the viewing will end @23:59 on Feb 7. <Past Events> OKAYAMA—Sun 1/12 @ 11:00 (max 25 ppl). Japan [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—Nakba, 1948 Uno—Sat 1/11 @13:00 (max 20 ppl) ＆ Okayama—Sun 1/12 @13:30 (max 25 ppl). Japan Premiere! Dir. Annemarie Jacir, Drama, 2008, 105 min, In Arabic & Hebrew w/ English and Japanese subtitles. A sensational debut feature by the first Palestinian woman filmmaker. Official selection to Cannes Un Certain Regard. Palestine’ entry to the [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—Arab–Israeli War, 1967 Okayama—Sun 1/12 @16:00 (max 25 ppl). Japan Premiere! Written and directed by: Annemarie Jacir, Cinematographer: Helene Louvart, Editor: Annemarie Jacir, Panos Voutsaras, Starring: Mahmoud Asfa, Ruba Blal, Saleh Bakri. 2012, 93 min. In Arabic with English subtitles and Japanese Subtitles for Deaf and hard-of-hearing. The viewing [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—The First Intifada, 1987-93 Okayama—Mon 1/13 @11:00 (max 25 ppl). Western Japan Premiere! Director: Amer Shomali & Paul Cowan, Writer: Paul Cowan, 2014, 75min. Palestine, Canada, France. Featuring Alison Darcy, Rosann Nerenberg, Holly O'Brien, Heidi Foss. In English and Arabic with English subtitles and Japanese SDH subtitles. Streaming is limited to the [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—Attacks on Gaza Recorded by Citizen Journalists: 2008-09 & 2023-24. Uno—Sat, 1/11 @16:00 (max 20 ppl) & Okayama—Mon, 1/13 @13:00 (max 25 ppl). Japan Premiered at 2015 UPAF! Screened with: Ahmad Alive (37 min) Shot, Edited, Written, and Directed by Fida Qishta | Gaza | 58min | color | self-documentary | In English and Arabic with English and [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—Attacks on Gaza Recorded by Citizen Journalists: 2008-09 & 2023-24. Uno—Sat, 1/11 @16:00 (max 20 ppl) & Okayama—Mon, 1/13 @13:00 (max 25 ppl). Japan Premiere! Screened with: Where Should the Birds Fly (61 min) Camera and Storytelling by: Ahmad Ghunaim | Directed by: Yusuf Omar & Aurelia Driver | Produced by: Seen.TV | Gaza/South Africa | [Read more...]
Palestine's History on Cinema—Contemporary Life in the Occupied West Bank. Okayama—Mon, 1/13 @15:30 (max 25 ppl). Japan Premiere! Written and Directed by: AMEEN NAYFEH, starring Ali Suliman. Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden | 2020 | 96 min | In Arabic with English subtitles and Japanese SDH subtitles | Ticket: 1200 yen Separated from his injured son by Israel's [Read more...]
Getting to Know Our Asian Neighbors Through Good Films: India Uno—Sat, 1/11 @18:30 (max 20 ppl) & Okayama—Mon, 1/13 @19:30 (max 25ppl). Okayama Premiere! A beautiful hybrid documentary by the winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024. Director: Payal Kapadia | India, France | 2021 |101 min | poetic, hybrid documentary | in Hindi and Bengali, with English and Japanese Subtitles [Read more...]
Getting to Know Our Asian Neighbors Through Good Films: Myanmar Okayama—Sun, 1/12 @18:30 (max 25 ppl). Okayama Premiere! The Myanmar Film Collective | 2022 | 70 min, Burmese with Japanese Subtitles (no English subtitles) A hybrid film about life under the regime of terror in Myanmar in the aftermath of its military coup of February 1st 2021, told through personal stories by a group of [Read more...]
Getting to Know Our Asian Neighbors Through Good Films: China Uno—Fri 1/10 @18:30 (max 20 ppl). Western Japan Premiere! Q&A w/ the director (tentative). Dir. Zhang Mengqi. China. 2023, 190 mins. In Mandarin with English & Japanese subtitles. Over the past thirteen years, Zhang has documented her father’s village in Hubei, China, as a repository of ancestral memory.