After six days of mostly sold-out events, the 23rd Nippon Connection Film Festival ended on Sunday, June 11, 2023 with an award ceremony at the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt am Main. At eight locations, the festival screened around 100 short and feature-length films from Japan and offered a supporting program with more than 60 events to the visitors. Aside from star guest Toko Miura, around 45 filmmakers and artists from Japan along with more than 100 further international guests traveled to Germany to present their works to the audience. With more than 18,500 visitors, this year’s festival scores record attendance. The audience, as well as professionals and international guests, celebrated the versatile program and enjoyed the summery festival atmosphere in Frankfurt am Main.

The closing of the festival was celebrated with an award ceremony on June 11 in Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm. Actress and singer Toko Miura personally accepted the Nippon Rising Star Award. The honorary award was conferred for the first time this year and acknowledges extraordinary emerging talents of Japanese cinema. At the 23rd Nippon Connection Film Festival, Miura could be seen in Drive My Car, I Am What I Am, Our Huff And Puff Journey and Mountain Woman.

The Nippon Visions Jury Award was awarded to the ironic roadmovie Your Lovely Smile by Kah Wai Lim, which depicts the journey of an independent director traveling through Japan in a desperate search of cinemas willing to screen his new film. The international jury, consisting of Daishi Matsunaga (director), Karen Severns (festival curator and journalist), and Claudia Bertolé (film scholar, reviewer and book author), was enthused by the message of the film, the acting performance and the protagonist’s passion. A special mention was given to Sayonara, Girls. by Shun Nakagawa. The jury singled out the camera work and editing, as well as the authentic actors and the touching closing scene.

During the festival, the audience could vote for three audience awards. The eighteenth Nippon Cinema Award, sponsored by Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt am Main and endowed with 2,000 Euros, was awarded to the warm-hearted comedy Yudo. With his comprehensive use of situational comedy, bizarre characters, and perfectly timed gags, director Masayuki Suzuki succeeded in declaring his love for Japanese bathhouses.

The elected winner of the Nippon Docs Award is Sungwoong Kim’s My Anniversaries. The documentary’s protagonist was wrongly convicted of murder and spent 29 years in prison. Since his discharge on probation in 1996, he fights for the acquittal of others who have been wrongly convicted by the Japanese judiciary system. The prize, endowed with 1,000 Euros, was awarded for the fourth time.

The ninth Nippon Visions Audience Award was given to Hoarder On The Border by Takayuki Kayano. The comedy follows failed concert pianist Ritsuki who starts a job at a service for household clearances. Sporting wit and a fair portion of criticism of the Japanese social system, director and writer Kayano depicts lovable characters on the edge of society. The prize is sponsored by Japanisches Kultur- und Sprachzentrum in Frankfurt and endowed with 1,000 Euros.

The 24th Nippon Connection Film Festival will take place from May 28 until June 2, 2024 in Frankfurt am Main.

Selected films of the festival will be shown as part of the thematic focus “Cityscapes & Countryside” in the upcoming months in the cinemas of the Rhine-Main area. The dates will be announced on the festival’s website: NipponConnection.com.


The festival

The Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection is organized by the 70-member, largely voluntary team of the non-profit association Nippon Connection e. V. It is under the patronage of Angela Dorn (Hessian Minister for Science and Art), Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main) and the Consulate General of Japan in Frankfurt am Main. Since its founding in 2000, Nippon Connection has become one of the world’s largest platforms for Japanese cinema and the most popular film festival in Hesse, including more than 18,500 visitors in 2023. .