Japanese film nights return to Cyprus

November is an exciting month events-wise. Street food, book festivals, markets, concerts and all sorts of cultural happenings are taking place all over the island. Cinephiles can now also look forward to Japanese film nights as the Embassy of Japan is once again organising a series of screenings in Nicosia and Limassol.

Four screenings are planned to take place throughout November, three at Pantheon Theatre in Nicosia and one at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol. All of them will be free to attend and will include subtitles in English.

The first Japanese film to be screened on November 9 is the animation The House of the Lost on the Cape about 17-year-old run-away Yui and 8-year-old Hiyori, who lost her family and her voice, who meet Kiwa, a strange old lady. She offers them a place to stay. The two girls find comfort in Mayoiga, a legendary house, said to look after lost travellers. The film will be screened at Pantheon at 6pm.

Next is Iwane: Sword of Serenity, an action/drama about Iwane Sakazaki who returns to his homeland where a tragic incident results in the death of two childhood best friends. Forced to leave his fiancée Nao, he becomes a vagrant masterless samurai with nothing to lose. This will be an evening screening on November 13 at 8.30pm.

The last film at Pantheon, on November 20 again at 8.30pm, is Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. It revolves around the life of Aoki Miyako, a young woman from Hirosaki, who helps her father in his Tsugaru lacquer-ware workshop. The industry is in decline, but Miyako is determined to revive it.

Finally, Children of the Sea will be screened at Rio Cinema, Limassol on November 27 at 8pm. It is a stunning animation film about Ruka who befriends two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs. In the process, she learns about the various secrets of the sky, the universe and her connection with the sea.

Japanese Film Screenings

The House of the Lost on the Cape. November 9. (5pm). Iwane: Sword of Serenity. November 13. (8.30pm). Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. November 20. (8.30pm). Pantheon Theatre, Nicosia. Children of the Sea. (8pm). Rio Cinema, Limassol. In Japanese with English subtitles. Free. https://www.cy.emb-japan.go.jp/