WOWOW, Japan’s leading premium pay TV broadcaster, will have a noticeable footprint at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival – the 64^th edition of the revered film festival.

It was announced that Japanese drama IEJI (English title: “Homeland”), a feature film produced by WOWOW’s original film label for theatrical movies, WOWOW FILMS, has been selected to screen in the Festival’s prestigious Panorama Section, where the film will have its World Premiere.

The selection of IEJI marks the third time a WOWOW FILMS produced movie has been selected to screen in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival. The previous two films were “Parade” (2010), which won the Prize of the Fipresci Jury in the Panorama category, and “Byakuyako” (“Into the White Night”) in 2011. 

Additionally, “Cathedrals of Culture,” a six-part documentary series co-produced by WOWOW (the company’s first international co-production project) has been selected to screen in the Berlinale Special section, where it will also have its World Premiere. The documentary is co-produced by Kayo Washio, who runs WOWOW’s Los Angeles office.

Said Washio,"It’s an honor to have ‘Cathedrals of Culture’ selected to screen in Berlin. This is our first co-production project with international partners so the selection to the Berlinale is nice validation for us and our partners as we forge ahead with new co-production projects. It’s a very promising start.”

The filmmakers and the buildings to which the episodes in “Cathedrals of Culture” are dedicated are: Wim Wenders (Germany) - Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin, Germany; Michael Glawogger (Austria) - National Library in St. Petersburg, Russia; Michael Madsen (Denmark) – Halden Prison in Halden, Norway; Robert Redford (USA) - The Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, USA; Margreth Olin (Norway) – Opera House in Oslo, Norway; Karim Ainouz (Germany / Brazil) – Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.

About “Cathedrals of Culture”

“Cathedrals of Culture”, the six-part series produced by Neue Road Movies, and co-produced by WOWOW, will world premiere in Berlinale Special. Filmed in 3D and executive produced by Wim Wenders, the series allows six iconic and very different buildings to speak for themselves. It examines human life from the unblinking perspective of a manmade structure. Six acclaimed filmmakers bring their own visual style and artistic approach to the project. Buildings, they show us, are material manifestations of human thought and action.

Peeking into their remote corners and toeing the edges of their rooftops, discovering hectic crowds and silent rooms, the series looks into the many ways these buildings are more than just physical structures. Using stunning 3D, CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE explores how each of these landmarks – a concert hall, a library, a research institute, a prison, a cultural center and an opera house – reflects our culture and guards our collective memory.

“Cathedrals of Culture” offers six startling responses to the question: "If buildings could talk, what would they say about us?"

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CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE - a series in 3D and 2D about the soul of buildings

About “IEJI”

Directed by Nao Kubota from a screenplay by Kenji Aoki, the film stars Kenichi Matsuyama, Seiyo Uchino , Sakura Ando, Yuko Tanaka, Takashi Yamanaka and Ken Mitsuishi. Popular Japanese singer Salyu sings the movie's theme song "Ainiyukeru.”

In the film, Jiro suddenly comes home in Fukushima without telling anyone. No one lives at his homeland anymore as it is in an evacuation zone after the nuclear disaster of Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011. It is the homeland he abandoned about 20 years ago.

He had a hard working mother, a strict father who was a big name in town, and an older half-brother. He never felt comfortable being in a complicated farmer family in a small town. Ever since leaving home for some unfair reason, Jiro has never come back even for his father’s funeral.

But he comes back. He starts rice planting and live all by himself at his empty homeland peacefully. When Jiro's old friend appears to his home, Jiro tells him "I came back because nobody is here anymore".

Soichi, Jiro's older half-brother is crammed into a temporary house with his wife, little daughter and stepmother. He struggles not knowing what to do after losing his homeland. As an eldest son in a farmer family, protecting his land of his ancestors has always been a burden.

Away from her familiar home, Tomiko, Soichi's stepmother, is gradually getting old and her memory becomes less clear. She still silently cares about her blood-related separated son, Jiro.

Soichi is told that Jiro is back. He goes to pick up Jiro and the family finally reunites. After the reunion, brothers make big decisions. Jiro takes his mother to their empty homeland. Soichi takes his family to a new land to start another life.

The film will be released in Japan on March 1.

About WOWOW

WOWOW is Japan’s leading premium pay TV broadcaster with about 2.6 million subscribers and the first 24/7, 3 channel, full-HD broadcaster in Japan. With a focus on quality entertainment and exceptional customer service, WOWOW has seen seven years of continuous net growth in subscribers. As of July 2011, all of the company’s subscribers are now on a digital subscription, which includes WOWOW’s groundbreaking members on demand channel.

Listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock exchange, WOWOW’s offering includes 3 premium Full-HD channels and a subscription streaming service:

WOWOW Prime covers a wide range of genres, including 7 popular overseas TV series per week along with our original series, movies, and documentaries. WOWOW Prime is also the official channel of both the Oscars and the Grammy Awards in Japan.

WOWOW Live brings exclusive live broadcasts of the world’s greatest sports events along with live concerts and stage performances. Sports featured on WOWOW Live include the NBA, La Liga Española, LPGA, UFC, and more.

WOWOW Cinema carries output contracts with all major studios and a lineup of approximately 1400 movie titles from all over the world. WOWOW Cinema provides an experience to the world of cinema through a selective collection of movies.

WOWOW Members On Demand offers subscribers the ability to view our quality programming anywhere and anytime. The streaming service features live events and sports as well as popular series and movies.