4th JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL

16–18 October 2026

in Zagreb, Croatia!

FILMS


The Scent of Spring

 映画「春の香り」

  • Year of production: 2024
  • Duration: 102 min.
  • Genre: Fiction

Haruka (Misaki), an aspiring manga artist, is unable to lead a normal school life due to a brain tumour she developed while still in elementary school. As a result, she transfers to a correspondence high school.
On her first day at the new school, she has what seems like a fateful encounter straight out of a manga with Takumi (Arata Sato), a handsome student who shares the name of the main character in the manga she is creating. Haruka becomes increasingly attracted to him and falls in love for the first time.
However, just when she appears to have reached the height of happiness, her brain tumour returns. Even in the depths of despair, Haruka refuses to curse her fate and chooses to live, despite the risk of permanent complications following surgery.
After the operation, paralysis prevents her from drawing manga or attending school. Without explaining why she can no longer see him, Haruka abruptly ends her relationship with Takumi.
As Haruka struggles with the loss of hope, her family does everything in its power to support her. Determined to protect Haruka and her desire to live, they remain steadfastly by her side. Gradually, Haruka begins to smile again, but…

  • Director : Masahito Tanno
  • Producer : Tomoko Hori
  • Screenplay : Kamachi
  • Cast : Misaki, Arata Sato (IMP.), Shinsuke Kasai, Ayana Shinozaki, Kento Hiramatsu (BOYS AND MEN), Atsuko Sakurai and others

A Message at 88

 劇場版 米寿の伝言

  • Year of production : 2025
  • Duration : 61 min.
  • Genre: Comedy

Yonezo, an eccentric inventor, passes away shortly before his 88th birthday.
His grandsons, the brothers Kyohei and Kippei, begin sorting through the inventions their grandfather left behind. Suddenly, one of the inventions malfunctions—and the contents of their grandfather’s coffin and the younger brother’s body switch places!
Their joy at being reunited with Yonezo is short-lived when the invention breaks down, leaving them unable to reverse the switch.
Will the older brother be able to save his younger brother? And what will happen when the family must say goodbye to their grandfather for a second time?
Starring an 85-year-old lead actor, this is a film in which three generations of one family come together to fulfil a dream that was once lost.

  • Director and screenwriter : Gaku Kawasaki
  • Cast : Masakatsu Nishimoto, Kentaro Nishimoto, Ginjiro Nishimoto, Kasumi Hasegawa, Himena Yamada, Miyuki Funaki, Daisaburo Arakawa, Sasara Yamamoto, Atsushi Nakano, Suika Yamazaki, Yoshiki Ichikawa, Raiya Nakajima, Nakagawa Paradise i Kenta Hamano

Sinbad

 長編映画 シンドバッド

  • Year of production: 2016
  • Duration : 114 min.
  • Genre: Animation, Adventure

A girl named Sana falls from the sky on a flying wooden horse. She is a princess of the legendary sorcerer clan and has travelled the world searching for her people, who have been scattered across distant lands.
Sinbad and his friends join Sana on her quest to find the other members of the magical clan…

  • Director : Shinpei Miyashita
  • Series composition and screenplay : Hiroyuki Kawasaki

© Project Sinbad


My Son Goku

 ぼくの孫悟空

  • Year of production: 2003
  • Duration : 95 min.
  • Genre: Animation, Adventure

Son Goku is a monkey born from a stone on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. Strong-willed, mischievous and endowed with mysterious powers, he eventually becomes the king of the monkeys and accomplishes many remarkable feats.
However, he becomes overconfident and causes chaos in the heavenly realm. As punishment, Buddha imprisons him beneath the Mountain of Five Elements.
Five hundred years later, Son Goku is freed by Xuanzang, a travelling Buddhist monk. He becomes the monk’s companion and joins him on a journey to India.
Along the way, Son Goku meets new companions and battles the monsters blocking their path. They are constantly followed by a mysterious man named Kunlun, while the truth about Son Goku’s hidden secret gradually begins to emerge…
A turbulent story filled with extraordinary adventures is about to begin.

  • Original Author : Osamu Tezuka
  • Directors : Akio Sugino, Fumihiro Yoshimura
  • Screenplay : Baku Yumemakura and the Tezuka Productions Literary Department

© Tezuka Productions / Art Vivant


Lupin the IIIrd vs. Detective Conan

 ルパン三世VS名探偵コナン

  • Year of production: 2009
  • Duration : 104 min.
  • Genre: Animation

Queen Sakura and Prince Gill of the Kingdom of Vespania are killed in a hunting accident. The throne is to pass to the Queen’s daughter, Princess Mira, but she is unable to accept the deaths of her mother and brother and refuses to become queen.
Mira travels to Tokyo to attend an official reception but seizes an opportunity to escape. During her flight, she meets Ran, a girl who looks almost exactly like her, and the two exchange identities. While Ran takes her place, Mira enjoys a brief taste of freedom in the company of Fujiko and Lupin.
Meanwhile, Conan joins forces with Jigen to investigate the truth behind the fatal hunting accident…

  • Director: Hajime Kamegaki
  • Producers : Toshio Nakatani (NTV), Michihiko Suwa (YTV) i Tetsu Kojima (TMS)
  • Screenplay : Atsushi Maekawa
  • Music : Yuji Ohno, Katsuo Ohno
  • Original Authors : Monkey Punch, Gosho Aoyama

If My Favourite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die

 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ

  • Year of production: 2023
  • Duration : 101 min.
  • Genre: Fiction

An ordinary part-time worker becomes a legendary fan.
Eripiyo first meets her favourite idol three years earlier at a Tanabata festival. There, she experiences the thrill of admiration for the first time when she sees Maina, a member of ChamJam, a local underground idol group from Okayama. From that moment on, Eripiyo devotes her entire life to supporting her.
She works at a bakery and spends almost all her income on her favourite idol. Her dedication is so complete that the only outfit she wears is the red tracksuit she has owned since high school.
As Eripiyo enters her fourth year of supporting Maina, ChamJam is presented with an opportunity to expand its activities to Tokyo, inspiring Eripiyo to support the group with even greater passion.
Maina, meanwhile, struggles with self-doubt as her popularity fails to grow, despite the opportunity now before her. Will ChamJam finally succeed in performing at the legendary Budokan?

  • Director : Kentaro Otani
  • Screenplay : Kumiko Motoyama
  • Original Author : Auri Hirao
  • Cast : Sayuri Matsumura, Riho Nakamura, @onefive (MOMO, KANO, SOYO, GUMI) and others

HOPPECHAN: Mystery of the Sun Kingdom and the Black Cheek Team

 ほっぺちゃん「サン王国と黒ほっぺ団の秘密」

  • Year of production: 2026
  • Duration : 24 min.
  • Genre: Fantasy comedy

Round eyes, sparkling cheeks and an irresistibly squishy feel—Hoppechan, the character who became extremely popular among elementary school girls, is back in an animated adventure!
The Sun Kingdom is a world created entirely from “kawaii”—the spirit of cuteness.
One day, Original Hoppechan appears in the kingdom. Having lost her memory, she is a little Hoppechan who has lost her way.
Meanwhile, in the real world, an office worker named Hoho is gradually losing her self-confidence as she struggles with the pressures of her daily work and personal life. She, too, is beginning to feel lost.
Somewhere along the way, something goes awry, and the two stories quietly begin to unfold.
In the shadows of the Sun Kingdom, a group of wicked Hoppechans is creating a place where nothing is cute. Original Hoppechan soon joins the Guardians, the heroes responsible for protecting the kingdom…
A parallel-world fantasy comedy about the quest to restore the Sun Kingdom!

  • Original concept : Sun Hoseki
  • Original story : Prijatelji Kraljevstva Sunca
  • Director : Nabeshige
  • Character design : Gurin, Issa Kawaguchi
  • Series composition: Yoko Yonaiyama
  • Screenplay: Yoko Yonaiyama, Takahiro Nagano, Saji Komori
  • Art director: Eisuke Nakada
  • CG director: Ponpoko P

Jashinchan “Dropkick on My Devil!!! X”

 邪神ちゃん

  • Year of production: 2022
  • Duration : 24 min.
  • Genre: Gag Comedy, Black Comedy

Jashin-chan, a demon from the Demon Realm, is suddenly summoned to the human world.
The person who summons her is Yurine Hanazono, a university student with a somewhat dark personality who lives in a run-down apartment in Jinbocho.
Although Yurine manages to summon Jashin-chan, she has no idea how to send her back to the Demon Realm. With no other choice, Jashin-chan and Yurine begin living together.
However, according to Jashin-chan, she can return to the Demon Realm if the person who summoned her dies.
So, what does Jashin-chan decide to do…!?

  • Original Author: Yukio (manga koja trenutačno izlazi u časopisu Comic Meteor)
  • Executive producer: Koichiro Natsume
  • Directors: Hikaru Sato, Taku Yamada
  • Series composition: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
  • Screenplay: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Momoko Murakami
  • Character design: Makoto Koga
  • Chief animation directors: Makoto Koga, Hiromi Daimi

VENUE

CineStar Kaptol Boutique Cinema

Nova Ves 17, Kaptol Centar,

10000, Zagreb, Croatia

SCHEDULE

Please visit the website for the 1st Japan Festival in Zagreb, Croatia, using the link below.

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TICKETS

Please visit the website for the 1st Japan Festival in Zagreb, Croatia, using the link below.

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