Japanese Film Festival returns in September with 12 movies for free

MANILA, Philippines – The Japan Foundation Manila is bringing back the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) 2025 this September with the theme “Bridg(e)ing.”

Running from September 18 to October 26, the festival will tour Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Angeles, and Davao, screening 12 Japanese films for free.

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This year’s theme highlights “cinema as a bridge,” linking the past and the future, human and technology, body and spirit, and individual stories with shared community experiences. 

Japanese movie marathon

The lineup bridges timeless classics and contemporary releases. Among the highlights is Love Letter (1995, 4K restoration), Shunji Iwai’s iconic romance of love, loss, and memory set against Otaru’s snowy backdrop, and 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (2024), a Japan–Taiwan co-production that explores first love and promises across time.

Japanese cinema’s most enduring works are also on the program. Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) returns as an epic tale of swordsmen defending a village from bandits, while Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning Spirited Away (2001) takes audiences back into its enchanting spirit world. Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995) rounds out the classics with its cyberpunk vision, questioning what it means to be human.

Newer films mix serious themes with lighthearted stories. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist (2023), a Venice-winning drama, meditates on ecological balance and disruption, while A Samurai in Time (2024) brings humor to the mix with a time-traveling warrior who stumbles into modern film sets. Anime fans can look forward to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (2024), the latest chapter in the mecha saga, and Cells at Work! (2024), a live-action take on the hit manga set inside the human body.

Alongside these are new releases with a range of genres and emotional depth. Showtime 7 (2025) unfolds as a tense thriller about a disgraced anchor caught in a bomb negotiation, while Teasing Master Takagi-san (2024) offers a tender romance adapted from Soichiro Yamamoto’s manga. Closing the lineup is The Boy and the Dog (2025), a moving drama about resilience, companionship, and healing after disaster.

The film festival opens on September 18 at Shangri-La Red Carpet Cinema before moving to SM City Baguio (Sept 26), SM City Cebu, SM City Lanang, and SM City Clark, then returns to Manila for screenings at the UP Film Institute and concludes at SM City Manila. Special screenings at universities will follow in November.

Earlier this year, JFF January 2025 featured 12 films nationwide, including the Japanese-Filipino co-production DitO starring Manny Pacquiao, alongside international titles like Godzilla Minus One, Perfect Days, and Akira.

For full schedules and details, visit japanesefilmfestph.jfmo.org.ph or follow @jfmanila on Facebook and Instagram. – with reports by Trixia Policarpio/Rappler.com

Trixia Policarpio is a Rappler intern studying BA Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman.