The festival
Japan Cuts is an annual festival of new Japanese film presented by Japan Society in New York City. First held in 2007, it grew out of Japan Society's earlier New Films from Japan series, and is often described as North America's largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema.
Worth knowing
Each edition typically presents dozens of films, many of them premieres, along with visiting filmmakers and actors. The festival is held over roughly two weeks in July.
How to attend
The public buys tickets for individual screenings at Japan Society's theater in Manhattan. Schedule and ticketing are posted on the Japan Society website.
Awards & submissions
Presented by Japan Society, Japan Cuts is described as North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema, each edition presenting dozens of new features, documentaries, shorts, anime and restorations across several curated sections, many as premieres. Its marquee honor is the Cut Above Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film, presented at a centerpiece screening to a leading Japanese actor or filmmaker. The festival regularly hosts visiting directors and stars for Q&As. It runs over roughly two weeks in July at Japan Society’s theater in Manhattan, with individual tickets sold through the Japan Society website. Because the festival is curated by Japan Society’s film programmers rather than built around an open competition, filmmakers and distributors typically work with the organization directly; schedule and ticketing details are posted on the japansociety.org site for each edition.
Official site →Dates and programs change year to year — check the official site for the current edition.