JFF Special Series 2025

Japanese Paper Films

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© Design by Daniel Nienhui

As part of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) Special Series spotlighting remarkable works from the prolific 1930s, this rare mini program brings to Australia the restored and digitised kami eiga (“paper films”) of pre-war Japan. Introduced by Professor Eric Faden (Bucknell University, USA), the project breathes new life into these long-forgotten treasures, pairing 50 minutes of beautifully preserved imagery with a live Japanese koto and cello performance by Duo YUMENO, fresh from their recent Japan tour.

Presented by the Australian Cinémathèque in association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales and ACMI, in partnership with The Japan Foundation, Sydney as part of the Japanese Film Festival 2025, this event offers a glimpse into a unique chapter of Japanese film history.

Professor Eric Faden

Professor Eric Faden is a film scholar at Bucknell University (USA). He specialises in early and pre-cinema, producing videographic works that imagine how academic scholarship might appear as audiovisual media.

© Emily Paine

Duo YUMENO

Duo YUMENO are New York based koto / shamisen player and singer Yoko Reikano Kimura and cellist Hikaru Tamaki. They create a singular fusion sound, inspired by tradition but with a contemporary sensibility.

© Robert Essel

Credit: お月さん OTSUKI – MR. MOON, PRINT COURTESY OF THE KYOTO TOY FILM MUSEUM

Credit: かっぱ踊り / KAPPA ODORI, PRINT COURTESY OF THE MACHIKO KUSAHARA COLLECTION

Credit: 浦島太郎 / URASHIMATARO, PRINT COURTESY OF THE KYOTO TOY FILM MUSEUM

Credit: お月さん OTSUKI – MR. MOON, PRINT COURTESY OF THE KYOTO TOY FILM MUSEUM

Brisbane
19 November

QAGOMA

Lecture
18:30 – 18:45

Screening
Approx. 18:45 – 20:00

Ticket Prices
General: $20
Concession: $18
QAGOMA Members: $16

Sydney
23 November

Art Gallery of NSW

Lecture
14:00 – 14:15

Screening
Approx. 14:15 – 15:30

Free of charge

Melbourne
27 November

ACMI

Lecture
19:00 – 19:15

Screening
Approx. 19:15 – 20:30

Ticket Prices
General: $25
Concession: $21
ACMI Members: $19

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Black to Inverted Button
Black to Inverted Button

Brisbane
19 November

QAGOMA

Lecture
18:30 – 18:45

Screening
Approx. 18:45 – 20:00

Ticket Prices
General: $20
Concession: $18
QAGOMA Members: $16

Black to Inverted Button

Sydney
23 November

Art Gallery of NSW

Lecture
14:00 – 14:15

Screening
Approx. 14:15 – 15:30

Free of charge

Black to Inverted Button

Melbourne
27 November

ACMI

Lecture
19:00 – 19:15

Screening
Approx. 19:15 – 20:30

Ticket Prices
General: $25
Concession: $21
ACMI Members: $19

Black to Inverted Button