The Japanese Film Festival Australia (JFF) is presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney. The JFF started in 1997 with three free film screenings and is now one of the largest celebrations of Japanese films in the world.In 2019, the Festival celebrated its 23rd year with an audience of over 30,000 Australia-wide. The Festival has enjoyed great success over the years, with the opportunity to showcase a vast variety of cinematic delights from 35mm film classics to newly-released titles currently screening in Japan. JFF Australia is part of JFF Asia-Pacific Platform initiated by The Japan Foundation Head Office based in Tokyo. This initiative aims to support and grow interest in Japanese films and cinema culture throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia.Learn more about the Japanese Film Festival Australia here.

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Penguin Highway (ペンギン・ハイウェイ)

Year: 2018 / Runtime: 119 min / Genre: Action/Adventure, Animation / Classification: PG (Mild fantasy themes and animated violence)

Language: In Japanese with English subtitles

Story:Aoyama (Kita Kana) is a young boy confident in his own intelligence and place in the world; he spends his days either observing the world around him or buried in his notebooks. Now that he’s in the fourth grade, surely he knows everything there is to know! So when penguins suddenly appear in his small town far away from any oceans, Aoyama is convinced that this is a mystery only he can solve—with just a little help from his best friend and the woman he has a crush on. But as the mystery slowly unravels, Aoyama begins to suspect that his crush is more connected to these mysterious penguins than it first seemed.From an adaptation of Tomihiko Morimi’s award-winning sci-fi fantasy novel of the same name comes Studio Colorido’s first feature length animation Penguin Highway, an unforgettable tale about growing up, friendship, and discovering who you really are.

Director: Hiroyasu Ishida

Original Story: Tomihiko Morimi

Chief Producers: Yoko Matsuzaki, Koji Yamamoto

Animation Producer: Masahiro Kannae

Producers: Noriko Ozaki, Taku Matsuo, Katsuhiro Takei

Production Company: Fuji Television Network, TOHO, KADOKAWA, DENTSU, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (JAPAN)

Distributor: Madman

Cast: Kana Kita, Yu Aoi

Copyright: © 2018 Tomihiko Morimi, KADOKAWA / Penguin Highway Production Committee

Awards

Winner of the Fantasia International Film Festival's Axis: The Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation award.

2018 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Work in Progress

2018 Fantasia International Film Festival, Satoshi Kon Award2018

Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia

2018 Busan International Film Festival

2018 Taichung International Animation Festival

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