Japanese Film Screenings 2025
The Embassy of Japan in Cyprus announces that Japanese Film Screenings will be held throughout November.
Two screenings will be held at Pantheon Theatre in Nicosia, and two at Rio Cinema in Limassol.
Admission is free for all, and no reservations are required.
The schedule and list of films to be screened are as follows:
Love At Least
Directed by Sekine Kosai 生きてるだけで、愛 [2018]
Wednesday | November 5 | Screening: 19:00 | Pantheon Theatre, 29 Diagoras Street, Nicosia
Genre: Drama, Romance, Feature | Language: Japanese | Subtitles: English | Running Time: 1hr 49 min
Romance film adaptation of the novel from Akutagawa Prizewinning author Motoya Yukiko.
Moving depiction of the growing distance between a woman dealing with isolation and a vacuous guy.
Yasuko's (Shuri) depression-triggered sleeping disorder keeps her in bed most of the time and has turned her into a social recluse.
She lives with Tsunaki (Suda Masaki), who is in charge of gossip articles at a publishing house.
His former girlfriend Ando (Naka Riisa) shows up and encourages Yasuko to return to society and tries to make Tsunaki break up with her.
Penguin Highway
Directed by Hiroyasu Ishida ペンギン・ハイウェイ [2018]
Saturday | November 15 | Screening: 18:00 | Rio Cinema, 125 Ellados Street, Limassol | Screen 3
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Adventure | Language: Japanese | Subtitles: English | Running Time: 2hr
Aoyama is a boy in the 4th grade. Every day he learns about the world, and he writes what he’s learned into his notebook.
He is friends with “The Lady”, a young woman who works at his dentist’s office.
The Lady finds his intelligence, his grown-up attitude, and the fact that he can be a bit of a brat to be very cute. One day, penguins appear in the suburbs where Aoyama lives.
These penguins appear out of nowhere far from the sea, and then simply disappear. Where did they come from and where did they go?
Aoyama begins his research in order to solve the mysteries of the penguins. One day he sees the Lady throw a can of soda into the air, and watches it transform into a penguin.
What’s the relationship between the lady and the penguins? Can he solve the mystery?
This is the story of a slightly mysterious and completely unforgettable summer experienced by a little boy.
The Wonderland
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa バースデー・ワンダーランド [2019]
Saturday | November 22 | Screening: 18:00 | Pantheon Theatre, 29 Diagoras Street, Nicosia
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy | Language: Japanese | Subtitles: English | Running Time: 1hr 55 min
Akane is a girl who has no self-confidence. On the day before her birthday, an alchemist named Hippocrates appears from the door of the basement room at an antique shop, and asks her to join him on a mission to save his world. With that, he takes her against her will to the “Wonderland” of happy colors. Inhabited by strange animals and people, this “Wonderland” faces the crisis of losing its colors.
What is the life-changing decision that Akane, transformed into the savior of this world, makes at the end of her great adventure?
Voices in the Wind
Directed by Nobuhiro Suwa 風の電話 [2020]
Wednesday | November 26 | Screening: 19:00 | Rio Cinema, 125 Ellados Street, Limassol | Screen 3
Genre: Drama | Language: Japanese | Subtitles: English | Running Time: 2hr 19min
After losing her loved ones in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, high school student Haru (Serina Motola) moves to Hiroshima to live with her aunt. Struggling with grief, she embarks on a journey across Japan to the “Wind Phone” in Otsuchi — her hometown deeply affected by the disaster.Guided by chance encounters with people who share their own stories of loss and resilience, Haru continues her path toward healing and connection.
This film is inspired by the true story of Otsuchi resident and garden designer Itaru Sasaki, who installed the "Wind Phone" in his home garden in 2011, hoping to speak with his deceased cousin one more time.
Over time, it became known as "the phone connected to heaven."
Japan Foundation
The films are a courtesy of the Japan Foundation. To cultivate friendship and ties between Japan and the world, the Japan Foundation creates global opportunities to foster friendship, trust, and mutual understanding through culture, language, and dialogue.
The Japan Foundation was established in October 1972 as a special legal entity supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In October 2003, it was reorganized as an incorporated administrative agency. Based on a government endowment of 78 billion yen, the activities of the Japan Foundation are financed by annual government subsidies, investment revenue, and donations from the private sector.