19th Nippon Connection Filmfestival

Starting as a students’ initiative at Goethe University in Frankfurt, it has become the biggest festival for Japanese cinema worldwide. With more than 100 films and around 50 supporting cultural events, the festival is a prominent showcase for Japanese culture in Germany.

Japanese cinema differs from western cinema in many respects. It often takes more time to unfold its stories, the protagonists make other decisions than the ones we would expect from our usual heroes and thus, many films do not end the way we expect it. They offer another gaze at the world.

In German cinemas, you will hardly find a handful of Japanese movies per year, while TV usually repeats the same old classics. However, Japanese cinema is not only samurai, yakuza, and anime. Japan is one of the most productive and innovative film countries in the world, including a rich cinematic tradition.

Conveying this diversity has been the aim of Nippon Connection for eighteen years.

WHEN?
From May 28 to June 2, 2019

WHERE?
Locations in Frankfurt am Main include the festival centers Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and Theater Willy Praml in der Naxoshalle as well as the Deutsches Filmmuseum, the Mal Seh'n Kino and the Naxos Atelier.

Nippon Connection e.V. wants to present the diversity of Japanese cinema. Every year, we organized the Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt am Main, showing not only numerous Japanese short and feature length films, but also offering an extensive supporting program over the course of six days. During the festival, merchandising booths invite you to browse and take you on a culinary journey through Japan. All this is topped off by a rich variety of workshops, lectures, and concerts introducing Japanese culture.

Thus, we want to build a platform for the direct exchange between filmmakers and the audience. Numerous filmmakers and artists from Japan come to the festival every year in order to present their films, answer questions, and receive the feedback from the audience. They often praise the unique atmosphere of our festival.

Our festival is not only for cinema fans, and it is no longer an insider’s tip. Between films, workshops, and talks, it creates a space for new encounters and discoveries.

• Cinema means more to you than just popcorn and simple entertainment. Create a space for a different kind of cinema with us!
• You want to actively support a diverse, independent art and culture scene in Frankfurt, fostering encounters and exchange.
• You want to encourage an active community of enthusiasts of film, culture, and Japan.

Nippon Connection provides cultural work recognized for its public utility. We do not make any profits from the festival. However, organizing the festival costs a lot of money every year. Here are just a few examples for recurring expenses:

• Screening fees and shipping costs for the films
• Rental fees for technical equipment – cinema equipment for the locations is partly provided by us (projectors, screens, sound equipment, etc.)
• Artists’ fees and travel expenses for filmmakers and artists from Japan and Europe

Our expenses are mainly covered by ticket sales and gastronomical revenues during the festival week, by funds provided by the Land of Hesse and the City of Frankfurt am Main, and by the support of various sponsors. However, these funds are not guaranteed and have to be acquired and applied for every year.

This is where you come in! With your support, you can make sure that the Nippon Connection Film Festival will take place again in all its diversity.