Previously closed for renovations during JFF’s February run, the UPFI Cine Adarna now reopens its doors with a full lineup of Japanese cinema. From October 10 to 18, audiences can enjoy eight days of screenings featuring 12 films, a mix of contemporary titles and restored classics that highlight the depth and diversity of Japanese filmmaking.
The International Silent Film Festival Manila continues its celebration of cinema history and live performance with a special screening of The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye: An Episode from the Tales of Flowers, directed by Jirô Kawate. This rare 1930s Japanese silent film is adapted from the work of Yoshiya Nobuko—one of Japan’s earliest openly queer women writers and a trailblazer of shōjo and yuri literature. In a time when stories of women loving women were rarely told, Yoshiya wrote them into existence, offering narratives that still feel quietly revolutionary.
This revival is told in the tradition of how silent films once were—through the voice of a benshi. Nanako Yamauchi, one of only around 20 active benshi remaining in Japan, will perform a live narration that blends storytelling, performance, and emotion, bringing this nearly forgotten film vividly to life.
Presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila, JFF was launched in 1997 and has grown to become one of the most anticipated film festivals in the country, attracting over 40,000 cinema goers during last year’s run. JFF 2025 has an exciting lineup of films that will have something for everyone; from heart-thumping anime adventures to kilig-filled romantic comedies, and even blockbuster monster epics!
“In Zen Buddhism there is a word satori which means a sudden awakening or enlightenment,” says festival director Yojiro Tanaka. “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.”
