7 Sep – With the opening of the new Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) at Johor Bahru's Paradigm Mall, GSC has announced that the annual Japanese Film Festival (JFF) will be expanding to the south next year. This year, GSC has added a new venue in the Klang Valley; GSC Nu Sentral, to complement GSC Mid Valley, GSC Pavilion KL, and GSC 1 Utama. According to GSC Chief Executive Officer Ms Koh Mei Lee, last year's JFF event saw the attendance of 5,600 movie-goers, thus this year the festival is expecting to see more than 10,000 people attending as the movies that will be shown for JFF 2016 are more recent films compared to its previous editions. Yesterday, the 13th Japanese Film Festival was officially launched at GSC Pavilion KL, offering an eclectic line-up of 13 movies, and featuring a special guest from Japan, legendary actress Kirin Kiki.
The 73-year-old actress is featured in two Japanese film that will be screened for JFF this year – "An" (2015) and "After the Storm" (2016). During JFF 2016's opening, Kiki explained the reason why she is still actively acting in movies despite her age. "A lot of actresses in Japan tend to not want to take on the role of grandmothers even though they are already at a suitable age or some even a lot older than me. They feel that they are still too young to play that role. That's why all these jobs keep coming to me," the actress cheekily said. "Also, I actually had a hard time turning down these requests because I don't have a manager or even my own office. I work on my own, and even carry my own bag." "But then again, all the fees for taking on all the roles go into my own pocket," she added.
JFF 2016 will hold its run in Klang Valley from 8 to 14 September, before moving to Penang from 15 to 18 September, followed by Kuching from 22 to 25 September, and finally Kota Kinabalu from 29 September to 2 October. (Photo source: Golden Screen Cinemas' Facebook)