13 Aug – This September, Japanese movie fans will be able to get their fill of Japanese films with the return of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) in 2012, where they will be able to watch an early screening of director Kenji Uchida's "Key Of Life", as it is released ahead of its planned release on 15 September in Japan. "Key Of Life" tells the story of an aspiring actor named Sakurai (Masato Sakai), who, frustrated with his life, decides to kill himself. But before committing suicide, Sakurai heads off to a public bathhouse where he witnesses a man named Kondo (Teruyuki Kagawa) collapse and lose his memory in front of him. On a sudden whim, Sakurai switches locker keys and along with it, his identity, with Kondo, but soon finds himself in trouble with the yakuza. Besides the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival Best Screenplay award winner, 11 other titles will also be screened at JFF. They are Yukisada Isao's "A Good Husband", Yamazaki Takashi's "ALWAYS -Sunset On Third Street- 3", "Tsutsumi Yukihiko's "Hayabusa", Kore-eda Hirokazu's "I Wish", Miike Takashi's "Ninja Kids!!!", Yoshida Daihachi's "Permanent Nobara", "Narushima Izuru's "Rebirth", Sakamoto Junji's "Someday, Sugita Shigemichi's "The Last Ronin", Hagiuda Koji's "Wonder Child" and Sunada Mami's "Death Of A Japanese Salesman".
The event is set to run from 13-18 September in Klang Valley and 20-23 September in Penang. In conjunction with the event, Cinema Online will be running a contest where participants will stand a chance to win passes to JFF's opening night as well as screening passes! To boost your chances of winning these passes, note that there will also be Cinema Online Movie Patrols in September, where participants can join in the games and activities to win movie tickets and merchandise, so stay tuned for more information. The Japanese Film Festival 2012 is organized by The Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur together with Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) and the Consulate General of Japan in Penang.