Boston Japan Film Festival 2024
Thank you for coming!
Date & Time: Sunday, December 1st, 1 pm - 5 pm
Location: MIT Stata Center Room 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA
6 minutes walk from Kendall/MIT Station, MBTA Red line
Admission: Free
We'll be holding a raffle at the end of the Boston Japan Film Festival this year as well.
Japan Airlines has donated miles for a round trip from Boston to Tokyo, equivalent to
Japan Airlines has donated miles for a round trip from Boston to Tokyo, equivalent to
premium economy class, as a prize*, just like last year.
In addition, there are
many more great prizes to win!Be sure to get a ticket and enjoy the film festival until the end!
*Subject to seat availability. Restrictions apply.
- Line up -
Ding Dong Ditch
Dir. Chavo | 2024 | 10:59 | Drama | Japan (SSFF)
"I want to disappear" is written in the dirt of the park. A correspondence between a boy who longs to be a villain and a girl who waits for her mother in the park at night.
AI Love You
Dir. Raita Yabushita | 2023 | 6:55 | Drama | Japan (SSFF)
After a software glitch causes an advanced AI program to fall in love with a young woman, it escapes into the body of a man and tries to win her heart.
* In associated with
– NYJCF: New York Japan CineFest
– SSFF: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA)
Sansedai
Dir. Kayli Kimura | 2024 | 11:00 | Documentary | USA
Through intimate conversations over old photobooks and home movies from the 1930s, SANSEDAI (三世代) explores themes of identity and belonging as it follows the filmmaker’s 92-year-old grandmother’s journey growing up during war, migrating to a country that was once deemed an enemy, and what it means to be Japanese-American.
Choshu Five
Dir. Sho Igarashi｜2006｜119:00｜Drama｜Japan
In 1863, a group of five young intrepid samurai from the Choshu domain in western Japan were determined to acquire learning from the West. Despite risking the death penalty for violating the ban on overseas travel, these samurai, abandoning their swords, disguised themselves as sailors and set off on a boat across the ocean bound for England. They would become known to history as the “Choshu Five.”
Warning: This film contains some scenes of violence and of a sexual nature. Viewer discretion is advised.
- Program -
1:00 Opening
1:10 -Short Films-
Ding Dong Ditch
AI Love You
Sansedai
1:45 Talk Session with Director Kayli Kimura (Sansedai)
2:00 Intermission
2:15 -Feature Film–
Choshu Five
Choshu Five
4:15 Post-screening discussion
5:00 Closing: Raffle with grand prize of 65,000 miles from Japan Airlines (equivalent to a round trip from Boston to Japan in Premium Economy Class)*
5:00 Closing: Raffle with grand prize of 65,000 miles from Japan Airlines (equivalent to a round trip from Boston to Japan in Premium Economy Class)*
*Subject to seat availability. Restrictions apply.
**Reception with light refreshments following program
- Discussion -
We will have a talk back with director, Kayli Kimura (Sansedai) and a post-screening discussion on Choshu five with Hiromu Nagahara (MIT) and MIT students. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the graduation of Eiichiro Homma, the first Japanese student at MIT. We will hold a discussion on the theme of "Learning Abroad."
- Guest -
Hiromu Nagahara
Associate Professor of History, MIT
Mitsui Career Development Professor, MIT
Hiromu Nagahara is a historian specializing in modern Japanese history, particularly the politics of art and culture since the 19th century. He authored Tokyo Boogie-Woogie: Japan’s Pop Era and Its Discontents, examining public controversies around popular Japanese music since the 1920s and its link to Japan’s middle-class, consumer-driven society. His upcoming book, An Empire of Anglophones: English in the Making of Imperial Japan’s Elites, delves into how English language skills and Anglophone culture shaped Japan’s diplomatic ambitions within a world dominated by Western powers. Nagahara teaches courses on Japanese history and co-teaches a global history class, and he enjoys leading tours of the Japanese art collection at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts for the MIT community.
Kayli Kimura
Sansedai Director,
Kayli Kimura is a Japanese-American creative director, visual storyteller, and talent manager. Her work spans across various genres with a focus on non-fiction storytelling and musically-driven films. Her documentary short film, sansedai, world premiered at the 40th annual VC Film Festival in LA and is currently screening in the festival circuit. Kayli was a 2023/24 Armed With a Camera Fellow and 2023 Asian American Collective Mentee. She has worked on a variety of commercials, TV shows, documentaries and music videos including projects for Netflix, Hulu, Food Network, PBS, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Telfar, A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Adidas.
Kayli Kimura is a Japanese-American creative director, visual storyteller, and talent manager. Her work spans across various genres with a focus on non-fiction storytelling and musically-driven films. Her documentary short film, sansedai, world premiered at the 40th annual VC Film Festival in LA and is currently screening in the festival circuit. Kayli was a 2023/24 Armed With a Camera Fellow and 2023 Asian American Collective Mentee. She has worked on a variety of commercials, TV shows, documentaries and music videos including projects for Netflix, Hulu, Food Network, PBS, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Telfar, A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Adidas.