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Based on the slice-of-life homonymous manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Ojiro presents a rather unusual romance in its premise, but at the same time, is as Japanese as a title could be, particularly in the way it presents the ‘will-they-won't-they' aspect, which is one of the most central in the story.

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The story takes place in a small rural city, where Ganta Nakami, a highschool student, is suffering from chronic insomnia, that has led him to a number of issues in his life, particularly a constant crankiness that has made his classmates avoid him for the most part, and a series of dozing-offs that frequently lead to injuries, usually treated by the school nurse, Ms Kurashiki. One day, the class rep asks him to fetch a step-ladder from the supposedly abandoned observatory, where he stumbles upon Isaki Magari,...

Chicago, Il – Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) announces its upcoming Season 17 lineup, running between September 8 and October 7 in Chicago. For the first time, this year's programming will include film selections from Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan, along with entries from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and more. This season's special guests attending with their films include Amarsaikhan Baljinnyham, Ben Yuen, Dornaz Hajiha, Lawrence Kan, Lee Won Suk, Ng Siu Hin, Park Dong-Hee, Rachel Leung, Roya Sadat and Wong You Nam. South Korean actor Lee Sun-Kyun will be Apuc's Excellent Achievement in Film Award recipient and will receive his award before the feature presentation of closing night film Killing Romance.

Apuc's Season 17 opens with a screening of director Masayuki Suzuki's Yudo, following architect Shiro Miura's (Toma Ikuta) attempts to modernize his outdated public bathhouse family business. As he immerses himself in the new role, Shiro connects with customers and begins to...

Raging Grace (2023) by Paris Zarcilla

There's quite a lot to like with “Raging Grace.” Among its brighter aspects is a solid central setup by writer/director Zarcilla that makes for a wholly engaging scenario. The first half explores quite heavily and naturally the desperation Joy feels at keeping her life in order, despite it all crumbling down around her. This ranges from the struggles of finding housing for her and Grace, facing racism and misogynistic abuse for the work she does, and the natural indignation of being a single mother. This gives the new job opportunity with Katharine such a sense of importance for Joy which she can use as a means of escaping this lifestyle only to end up stumbling upon a far more dangerous threat inside Katharine's house which gets uncovered slowly during her employment. This is handled incredibly well for a great start to things. (Don Anelli...

As we have mentioned many times before, the manga/anime adaptation is one of the nucleus of Japanese cinema, with a plethora of titles finding their way to the big screen.”Insomniacs After School”, based on the slice-of-life homonymous manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Ojiro, also follows the same path.

Insomniacs After School is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival

The story takes place In the small city of Nanao in Ishikawa Prefecture, where Ganta Nakami, a highschool student, is suffering from chronic insomnia, that has led him to a number of issues in his life, particularly a constant crankiness and a series of dozing-offs that frequently lead to injuries, usually treated by the school nurse, Ms Kurashiki. One day, the class rep asks him to fetch a step-ladder from the supposedly abandoned observatory, where he stumbles upon Isaki Magari, a cheerful student suffering from the same nocturnal condition as himself.

Suffering from chronic insomnia that makes him irritable and distant, Ganta Nakami struggles to fit in at Kuyo High School. Assigned by his classmates to fetch a stepladder from the supposedly haunted observatory, he meets Isaki Magari, a cheerful student suffering from the same nocturnal condition as himself. Having herself spread the rumor about the near-abandoned place, Isaki invites Ganta to share her haven. However, an overly well-intentioned teacher discovers the ruse and urges them to resurrect the astronomy club if they want to keep their little paradise. On the advice of the club's former leader, the duo organizes a stargazing event, which unfortunately falls through despite the unexpected help of several other students. Devastated, Ganta believes he is the instigator of everything that goes wrong around him, but Isaki puts things into perspective by confessing a secret that haunts her day and night. A congenital illness has left her with half a heart,...

Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival has announced the opening film of its 27th edition: Pascal Plante’s “Red Rooms,” about a high-profile case of a serial killer and the woman (Juliette Gariépy) obsessed with him.

“It’s a film of enormous emotional force, unbelievably controlled and smart, with a staggering performance from Gariépy. Pascal is one of the greatest talents of his generation in Quebec cinema and among the strongest filmmakers in the country right now,” says festival’s artistic director Mitch Davis.

“In a sense, it’s an unconventionally grim note to open a festival on. It’s a profoundly disturbing film. But I know the audience is going to be left completely breathless by it.”

“As a Montrealer, I have been a regular festival goer of Fantasia for years now, but it’s the first time one of my features will be screened in their lineup. I...

Exclusive: Quebec’s Fantasia International Film Festival will open its 27th edition with the North American premiere of Pascal Plante’s latest pic Red Rooms (Les chambres rouges).

Plante will bring the pic to his native Quebec following a Competition bow at Karlovy Vary in June. The film, Plante’s third, follows the high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier, which has just gone to trial, and Kelly-Anne is obsessed. When reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, she goes down a dark path to seek the final piece of the case’s puzzle.

The Nicolas Cage-starrer Sympathy for the Devil will have its international premiere at Fantasia. Written by Luke Paradise, the pic follows “The Driver” (Joel Kinnaman), who finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after being forced to drive a mysterious man, “The Passenger” (Cage). As their white-knuckle ride progresses, it becomes clear that...

Creepy

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Chihiro Ikeda

Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa is set to unveil two films in 2016 (the other snagged our #80 slot on this list). One of these is Creepy, an adaptation of a celebrated novel by Yukata Maekawa. What’s most exciting is the film marks Kurosaw’s return to genre filmmaking, where he made his indelible mark with such items as the genuinely eerie Cure (1997) and Pulse (2001). Kurosawa often blend existential ennui into supernatural or sci-fi narratives, which don’t always seem to spellbind. This latest is a mystery thriller about an ex-detective asked by an old colleague to look into a six year old missing person’s case. Meanwhile, he also moves into a new residence with his wife, and their next door neighbor consists of a man, his ailing wife, and their teenage daughter. One day, the daughter jumps into the detective’s...