The films of the 2025 Japanese Film Festival. Image: Courtesy of Japan Foundation

Enlightenment is the central theme of the 2025 edition of the Japanese Film Festival, which will be portrayed in its lineup of films of adventure, anime, romantic comedy, and other genres.

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The film festival will be held in Metro Manila, Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, and Davao, with different screening schedules per venue. It will kick off at the Shangri-la Plaza Red Carpet Cinema from January 30 to February 9, while SM North Edsa will screen its entries from February 21 to March 2.

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The film entries will hit theaters in the regional legs in February.

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According to festival director Yojiro Tanaka, it follows “satori,” a term defined in Zen Buddhism as “sudden awakening or enlightenment,” which will be the central theme of this year’s entries.

“Satori is the perfect word to describe this year’s lineup of films, whether it’s the profound awakening of the characters in the movie or the feeling that the audience will get after watching. We hope that the audience will enjoy what we have prepared, and at the same time spark something new in them,” he further explained.

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The opening film is “Godzilla Minus One,” which bagged the Best Visual Effects award at the 96th Academy Awards. Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, and Munetaka Aoki, the film was also recognized at the Critics’ Choice Awards and International Film Music Critics Association Awards, among other award ceremonies.

Other entries include “Sand Land,” “Perfect Days,” “Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle,” “Let’s Go Karaoke!,” “Matched,” “Akira,” “DitO,” “Monster,” “Our Secret Diary,” “The Imaginary,” and “Under the Open Sky.”

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