Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, are excited to announce the East Coast Premiere of Japan's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, Plan 75 as the closing title for its ACA Cinema Project The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond lineup. The debut film from director Chie Hayakawa, Plan 75 premiered as part of this year's Cannes' Un Certain Regard selection, garnering the Caméra d'Or Special Mention Prize. A runaway independent success in Japan, the film imagines a near future in which Japan's aging crisis has hit critical levels, resulting in a government initiative that encourages the elderly to voluntarily surrender their lives for the greater good.
In addition, we will also host a Panel Discussion Women in Film at 4pm on Saturday, November 19th, moderated by Joel Neville Anderson and featuring talents including Naoko Ogigami; Focusing on the advancement and increasing prevalence of female filmmakers in a global context, the conversation will also explore such opportunities in both U.S. and Japanese film industries.
Plan 75 (East Coast Premiere)
PLAN 75
Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Dir. Chie Hayakawa, 2022, 112 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arriane, Yuumi Kawai, Taka Takao.
Expanding upon her short of the same name (originally screened at JAPAN CUTS 2019 as part of the omnibus 10 Years Japan), director Chie Hayakawa's frighteningly realistic exploration of Japan's aging crisis explores a not-so-distant future where the government has implemented a
mass volunteer-based euthansia plan—the titular Plan 75—for the elderly aged 75 and above. Exploring the program's effects on the lives of an elderly Plan 75 volunteer (played by Tora-san's Chieko Baisho), a Plan 75 salesman and a Filipino caregiver, Hayakawa's harrowing work of speculative fiction considers the value of life in a society that deems the unproductive to be burdensome. Winner of Caméra d'Or Special Mention Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Plan 75 is Japan's official submission for the Oscars' Best International Feature.
Panel Discussion: Women in Film
Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 4:00 PM
A unique discussion focusing on the advancement and increased visibility of female filmmakers in a global context as well as in both the U.S. and Japanese film industries. Moderated by Joel Neville Anderson, Visiting Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies and Film at Purchase
College and programmer of JAPAN CUTS (2014-2021). Panelists include Naoko Ogigami, director of Riverside Mukolitta, which is among the selected titles for this series (Friday, November 18 at 8 pm), S. Casper Wong, an award-winning New York-based filmmaker, technology lawyer, social entrepreneur, activist and Founder of OO Media, and Cidney Hue, Sci-Fi Director, Filmmaker and Founder of PANO (formerly NYC Women Filmmakers).
