Welcome to the Nippon Connection Film Festival 2004!

Film and culture from Japan: that is Nippon Connection. Taking place in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, the festival is going into its fourth year already. Nippon Connection ranks among the major festivals of its kind, providing its visitors with a range of brand-new feature films and digital productions from one of the most exciting film industries. The program additionally features a wealth of cultural events: workshops and lectures (from classes on Japanese cooking to a panel on Japanese horror film), parties and concerts. The huge success of this concept shows in the increasing number of audience members. In the first year of its staging (2000) the festival appealed to 10.000 people, in 2003 we were happy to welcome 15.000.



In its programs NIPPON CINEMA and NIPPON DIGITAL Nippon Connection presents the cream of the crop of a film industry that is among the youngest in the world. The international comeback of the Japanese film in the early 1990’s is continuing. After the breakdown of the studio system in the 80s independent filmmakers took over and a new generation of up and coming talents got a chance to produce their films. In 2003 these auteur-filmmakers turned towards the audience without compromising their individuality. One such famous example is the story of a blind swordsman which was turned into a movie by star director Takeshi Kitano in his latest film ZATOICHI. The movie was a huge success with audiences and received the award for best direction at the Venice Film Festival. This years selection reflects the tightrope walk between commercial breakthrough and the preservation of artistic values in contemporary Japanese film production.


NIPPON RETRO will take place during the festival for the second time, in cooperation with the cinema at the German Film Museum. This year early Japanese animation films are presented. As anime is getting more and more popular, we want to show its long and impressive tradition. Nippon Connection will show a program of Japanese war and pre-war anime, which will be juxtaposed to American propaganda cartoons.


Last but not least, NIPPON CULTURE is offering a great range of additional events such as concerts, performances, parties with Japanese DJs, workshops, lectures, Japanese cooking and so on, which will appeal to all senses. Moreover, we once more invited several filmmakers, who are personally introducing their work.