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The Japanese Film Festival Special Series returns to QAGOMA in 2025 and turns its gaze to the 1930s, a defining decade for Japanese film. Following the introduction of “talkies”, or films made with sound, directors forged new visual languages and narrative styles that would shape the nation’s film industry for generations to come.

Amid the turmoil of the era—marked by economic hardship and mounting political pressure—Japanese filmmakers produced works of striking creativity and emotional depth. Though many films from this era have been lost, the surviving titles are a testament to the vitality of Japanese cinema before the devastation of war, offering audiences a window into both the anxieties and aspirations of the time.

The 1930s marked the consolidation of the studio system, a period when Japanese cinema refined humanist dramas that captured the quiet struggles of daily life and the shifting dynamics of family and society. Melodrama became a powerful lens through which filmmakers explored the hardships faced by women, while understated portrayals of generational change gave voice to the uncertainties of modern life. Popular genres such as jidaigeki (period drama) and comedy were reimagined with bold experimentation and incisive social critique, further expanding the possibilities of cinematic storytelling.

At the same time, historical epics, satirical dramas and stylistic innovations showcased the extraordinary breadth of vision that defined the decade. Filmmakers of the time shaped an industry coming into its own, as they blended modernist expression with enduring traditions, bridged silent and sound film and negotiated the pull of Western influence with distinctly Japanese perspectives.

This retrospective celebrates the richness of filmmaking in 1930s Japan, with all its lyricism, its humour and its sharp awareness of social realities. Featuring the likes of directors including Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Sadao Yamanaka, the program highlights the visionary filmmakers who shaped a golden era of Japanese cinema. A rare opportunity to see 16mm and 35mm archival prints on the big screen along with digitally remastered masterpieces, this year’s Special Series invites audiences to rediscover a decade of cinema that not only captured its historical landscape, but also defined the hallmarks of Japanese filmmaking in the decades that followed.

This free Special Series program is part of the Japanese Film Festival 2025, presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney and made possible by The Japan Foundation Film Library.