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Naoto Kawashima is a film director, writer, and actor from Japan, born in 1990. He graduated from Nihon University College of Art, and is affiliated with the production company GunsRock. His debut, “Takasaki Graffiti”, premiered in Japan in 2018, and “Welcome Back” was nominated for the Competition 1-2 Award at the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival.

On the occasion of the world premiere of his second full-length film, “Welcome Back”, at the Warsaw International Film Festival, he talks about his career, the film industry in Japan and other topics.

Can you tell me why and how you became a filmmaker?

Everything began thanks to my mother. She loves movies, and we used to go together to a video rental shop. That’s how I started watching various films, and from that time it was kind of obvious to me to choose this career. Although at the start I was thinking of becoming a producer,...

Boxing seems to be a compelling topic in Japan lately, as another filmmaker, after Takashi Miike with “First Love” (2019) or Sho Miyake with “Small, Slow But Steady” (2022), decided to use it as a background to tell a story. Naoto Kawashima is a film director, writer, and actor, whose feature debut, “Takasaki Graffiti”, premiered in Japan in 2018. However, his second film, “Welcome Back”, was presented to a broader audience, as it was nominated for the Competition 1-2 Award at the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival.

Teru (Kaito Yoshimura) and Ben (Yugo Mikawa) grew up together and consider themselves brothers. Teru is a boxer with the chance to win the rookie of the year title, while Ben is his biggest fan. In the decisive match, Teru loses to Kitazawa (Yoshinori Miyata), which results in his retirement from boxing. Ben, unable to accept it, picks up Teru’s gloves and heads to Osaka to fight Kitazawa.

Based on the novel “Jimenshitachi” by Ko Shinjo, “Tokyo Swindlers” implements one of the current “TV” favorite tropes, focusing on a group of swindlers, impressing, though, particularly with its outstanding cast.

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In the first of the seven episodes, we are mostly introduced to the group of swindlers the story focuses on. Harrison Yamanaka is the leader of the group, a notorious land swindler, who has some dealings with the authorities in the past, as veteran investigator Tatsu narrates to his junior Kuramochi, but has managed to remain unscathed for the most part. Takumi Tsujimoto is Yamanaka’s prodigy and right hand, a man who was convinced to join him after hitting rock bottom due to the actions of another land swindler in the past. Tsujimoto has his own assistant in hacker Nagai, and seems to be intensely loyal to his benefactor.

Tokyo Swindlers is a Japanese crime drama series written and directed by Hitoshi One. The Netflix series follows the story of a group of real estate scammers as they attempt an impossible scam of 10 billion yen while being constantly pursued by the police. Tokyo Swindlers stars Go Ayano, Etsushi Toyokawa, Kazuki Kitamura, Eiko Koike, Pierre Taki, Shota Sometani, Izumi Matsuoka, Kaito Yoshimura, Anthony, and Satoru Matsuo. Tokyo Swindlers is a fast-paced thrill ride with great characters and an interesting story, so if you loved the series on Netflix here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Sneaky Pete (Prime Video) Credit – Amazon Prime Video

Sneaky Pete is a crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The Prime Video series follows the story of Marius Josipović, a con artist as he finds himself being pursued by some very dangerous people after getting out of prison. Soon, he...

Receiving its world premiere at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, From Dawn Till Noon on the Sea proves a quietly unnerving and ultimately uplifting drama marked by its visual beauty and narrative restraint. This tale of three troubled souls reveals Japanese filmmaker Takayuki Hayashi to be an impressive talent with his feature directorial-screenwriting debut, which should garner attention on the festival circuit and merits international arthouse exposure.

Adapted from a manga by Shun Umezawa, the film establishes its solemnity from its opening seconds featuring a black screen, ominous whistling wind, and then a Biblical verse about a lost sheep. That could refer to any of the major characters in the story, which begins with a news report about a teenage schoolgirl, Mai (actress/model Hanon), who was kidnapped by a 20something man and confined to his apartment for 49 days, suffering from Ptsd as a result.

Returning to school, Mai keeps to herself,...

A live-action film adaptation of a story by 2022 Manga Taisho award winner, Shun Umezawa, from his omnibus manga “With One and Ninety-Nine”. A small port town not too distant from a city plays host to three dramatic episodes, one involving a man who has given up on life and society, a girl kept confined because of that man, and her classmate who suffers violence. (Source: Genkinahito)

Produced as one episode in the omnibus movie Human, This Dramatic Thing by writer-director Takayuki Hayashi, this short film stars Kaito Yoshimura, Hanon and Yuu Uemura. It was first released on September 19, 2022 and is scheduled to be screened at Uplink Kichijōji in Tokyo from August 4, 2023 and thereafter released sequentially nationwide.

Shinji Imaoka has moved far away from his pinku past during the recent years, with films like “Reiko and the Dolphin” proving the fact in the most eloquent fashion. At the same time, however, the sex element is not exactly void from his recent works, in an aspect that implies that he has not completely abolished his cinematic past. “Far Away, Further Away” is a testament to both elements.

Far Away, Further Away is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

Sayoko is a seemingly carefree woman, who works as a salesperson in a custom furniture company and has a happy relationship with her husband. However, recently she has started to realize that the two of them do not have much in common, and her efforts to change that do not bring any particular result. As such, she begins scouting for apartments, which leads her into meeting Yohei, a real estate...

Films about various kinds of dystopias have been one of the recent trends of international cinema, although the Japanese have indulged in the genre for decades now, particularly through anime, although live action films have also had their share. Kenichi Ugana gives a go in the category in his sophomore feature, in a film that left me with mixed feelings. Let us take things from the beginning though.

Good -Bye Silence is available through Article Films

The story takes place in a futuristic Japan, where the “Pleasure Law” prohibiting any kind of entertainment, including novels, movies, and music is in effect. Furthermore, the police punish any who indulge in any kind of entertainment with immediate death, with Sugimura, a particularly violent cop being the enforcer of the police in the city the film takes place.

In this setting, boredom is one of the most common ailments, and the two protagonists,...

Yutaro Nakamura’s feature debut is another splendid sample of Japanese indie, that uses the familiar theme of the “love triangle,” to present a number of social issues among Japanese youths.

The people compiling the triangle are three individuals who have been friends since high school. Yat was a child actor who has turned away from his past and is now trying to become a rock star, as he is the lead singer in a band. Takuma is a photographer who shoots Yat frequently. Yumika is Takuma’s ex-girlfriend, a timid girl who still lives with her parents. The three of them seem to get along as friends, despite their past.

“Grab the Sun” screened at Japan Filmfest Hamburg

However, things are not as smooth as they initial seem. Takuma also deals drugs on the side, and has a couple of friends they all smoke drugs together, one of which...

The collaboration between Eiji Uchida and Third Window Films has proved quite fruitful, being in the process of even creating a specific style, which begun with “Lowlife Love” and continues with “Love and Other Cults”.

Ai is a girl who seems to get no break in her miserable life. Her father is nowhere to be found, and her mother is a religion fanatic, although not with a specific one, but with the concept of joining different cults constantly. Not interested in her daughter even a bit, she unburdens her into the hands of her latest cult. The girl manages to find some semblance of peace in that community, but this sentiment is shattered when the leader of the cult, a westerner named Lavi is arrested and the cult disbanded. Ai finds herself in school, where she does seem to fit a bit, although not for long Her odyssey to find someone to love her,...