Miura Haruma's “Tokyo Kouen” to compete at Locarno
The Locarno International Film Festival has announced this year’s lineup, and there are two Japanese films in the running for the prestigious Golden Leopard prize in the International Competition section. One is Aoyama Shinji’s “Tokyo Kouen,” and the other is Tomita Katsuya’s “Saudade.”
This will be the international premiere for “Tokyo Kouen,” which stars Miura Haruma with a supporting cast of Eikura Nana, Konishi Manami, and Igawa Haruka. Aoyama has already been in the festival three times before this.
This will also be the international premiere for “Saudade,” a film that deals with the interactions between Japanese and foreigners in the Yamanashi prefecture.
The last time that a Japanese film won the Golden Leopard was Kobayashi Masahiro’s “Ai no Yokan” in 2007. Before that, the last one was Jissoji Akio’s “Mujo” in 1970.
This year’s festival also includes Matsumoto Hitoshi’s “Saya Zamurai” in the Piazza Grande program. In conjunction with that, there will also be a tribute to Matsumoto, featuring his previous films “Dainipponjin” and “Symbol.”
The Locarno International Film Festival takes place on August 3-13 in Locarno, Switzerland.
Sources:
www.tokyograph.com