The 13th Eiga Sai Japanese Film Festival will be held from July to August this year at selected venues nationwide. This event is organized by the Japan Foundation Manila together with the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, The Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, and The UP Film Institute. The event is also supported by Lyric Piano and ClickTheCity.com.

This year’s feature presentation is the film Departures (おくりびと, Okuribito), winner of the 81st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. Okuribito tells the story of Kobayashi Daigo (played by Motoki Masahiro), an out-of-work concert cellist out, who takes on a job as a Buddhist mortician in charge of special rituals before a cremation or burial. Faced with opposition from his pregnant wife Mika as well as troubled by problems with his own father, Daigo eventually finds purpose and fulfillment with his job of escorting escorting people to their final “departure”.

Also screening this year is the animated film Summer Days with Coo (河童のクゥと夏休み, Kappa no Kwu to Natsuyasumi) — which won the Best Animation Film award at the 2008 Mainichi Film Awards, the Grand Prize for Animation at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival, and the Feature Film category at the 2008 Tokyo Anime Award. Summer Days with Coo tells the story of Uehara Koichi, who finds a hibernating kappa (a legendary Japanese water creature) in a riverbed. He takes home the kappa — named Coo, and this is the start of their summer adventures together.

Rounding out this year’s line-up of films are The Summit: Chronicle of Stones, The Chef of South Polar, One Million Yen Gir, Your Friend, Yunagi City: Sakura Country, Climber’s High, Feel the Wind, and Villon’s Wife. Please see below for screening schedules:

Shangri-La Plaza

01 July 2011
7:00pm Departures (Invitational)

02 July 2011
1:00pm The Chef of South Polar
4:00pm Departures
7:00pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones

03 July 2011
1:00pm Summer Days with Coo
4:00pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
7:00pm The Chef of South Polar

04 July 2011
1:00pm Yunagi City, Sakura Country
4:00pm Villon’s Wife
7:00pm Climber’s High

05 July 2011
1:00pm Your Friend
4:00pm One Million Yen Girl
7:00pm Feel the Wind

06 July 2011
1:00pm One Million Yen Girl
4:00pm Climber’s High
7:00pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones

07 July 2011
1:00pm Feel the Wind
4:00pm Climber’s High
7:00pm Your Friend

08 July 2011
1:00pm Your Friend
4:00pm Yunagi City, Sakura Country
7:00pm Departures

09 July 2011
1:00pm Departures
4:00pm One Million Yen Girl
7:00pm Villon’s Wife

10 July 2011
1:00pm Summer Days with Coo
4:00pm Feel the Wind
7:00pm The Chef of South Polar

Gaisano Grand Citimall Davao

22 July 2011
4:00pm Your Friend
6:30pm Departures

23 July 2011
11:00am One Million Yen Girl
1:30pm The Chef of South Polar
4:00pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
7:00pm Climber’s High

24 July 2011
11:00am Yunagi City, Sakura Country
1:30pm Summer Days with Coo
4:30pm Feel the Wind
7:15pm Villon’s Wife

Ayala Center Cinema 4 Cebu

02 August 2011
7:00pm The Chef of South Polar

03 August 2011
7:00pm Climber’s High

04 August 2011
7:00pm Yunagi City, Sakura Country

05 August 2011
7:00pm Villon’s Wife

06 August 2011
1:30pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
4:30pm Summer Days with Coo
7:30pm One Million Yen Girl

07 August 2011
1:30pm Your Friend
4:30pm Summer Days with Coo
7:30pm Feel the Wind

UP Film Insitute

17 August 2011
12:30pm Summer Days with Coo
3:00pm One Million Yen Girl
5:30pm Yunagi City, Sakura Country
7:30pm Villon’s Wife

18 August 2011
12:30pm Your Friend
3:00pm Feel the Wind
5:15pm Yunagi City, Sakura Country
7:30pm Climber’s High

19 August 2011
12:30pm Climber’s High
3:00pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
5:30pm Villon’s Wife
7:30pm The Chef of South Polar

20 August 2011
12:30pm Summer Days with Coo
3:00pm Feel the Wind
5:10pm The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
7:30pm The Chef of South Polar

All films will be shown with English subtitles. Admission is absolutely free. For more information, please visit the JFM website at jfmo.org.ph or call their telephone numbers at (+632) 811-6155 to 58.