The press conference for the Japanese Film Festival 2019 was held this morning at GSC Mid Valley.

20 Aug – Japanese Film Festival (JFF) 2019, marking the 16th edition of the annual festival in Malaysia, is set to bring over 10 interesting movies to 5 cities across the nation.

"Since its early days, JFF has been showcasing titles from an array of genres, themes and perspective of Japan's cinematic heritage. This year, we are delighted to present to you a lineup of 13 titles, ready to capture hearts and minds of Malaysians," said Mr. Shimada Seiya, Director of The Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL), in his welcome speech at the press conference held earlier today.

Malaysian audience will get to watch "Little Nights, Little Love" first before the movie opens in Japan later next month.

While the movie's director and cast will be unable to attend due to their schedules, it was revealed by Mr. Shimada and Ms. Kyoko Kugai, Senior Program Officer of JFKL, during the press conference that Mr. Imaizumi and his cast will instead send in a video message to greet the audience on the opening night in KL.

Another highlight for this year is JFF 2019's special feature on music movies called "Music! Music! Music!", showcasing the titles "Farewell Song", a road movie that follows a female indie duo; "Little Love Song", a story of a high school band in Okinawa that is inspired by rock band Mongol800's hits; and "La La La at Rock Bottom", which stars Kanjani8 lead singer Shibutani Subaru and actress-model Nikaido Fumi.

This year also marks a big milestone for JFKL as it celebrates its 30th anniversary since its establishment in Malaysia back in 1989.

Mr. Shimada presenting the special poster created by GSC to celebrate JFKL's 30th anniversary in Malaysia.

With Cinema Online returning as the official online partner for the 11th consecutive year, this year's JFF is set to kick off early next month in 4 cinemas in the Klang Valley before heading to Penang, Johor and East Malaysia.

From 5 to 11 September, JFF 2019 will be held at GSC Mid Valley, GSC 1 Utama, GSC Pavilion Kl and GSC NU Sentral. It will then head north to GSC Gurney Plaza, Penang, from 12 to 15 September, before heading south to GSC Paradigm Mall JB, Johor Bahru, from 19 to 22 September.

The film festival will wrap up in early October, following its 3 to 6 October simultaneous run at GSC CityONE Megamall, Kuching, and GSC Suria Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

Tickets for JFF 2019 movies are priced at RM9 each and will be available for purchase from this 29 August onwards.

For movie showtimes and information, visit our Japanese Film Festival 2019 page HERE.