Mid-October marks the commencement of the 18th Japanese Film Festival. Beginning in Adelaide, the Festival will travel through nine cities over two countries.

The Festival’s major screenings will take place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth as well as, for the first time, Parramatta, Fremantle, Adelaide and Auckland, with the latter signifying the Festival’s first international screening since its inception in 1997. The JFF will also travel to Townsville, Cairns, Hobart and Darwin for ‘JFF Mini’, four smaller screenings of three films each, which will be free to the public.

The Festival will also feature the Australian premiere of the second and third films in the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. A live-action adaption of the highly popular manga, Rurouni Kenshin is a of tale redemption and atonement, reflecting the search for social identity that typified post-Shogunate Meiji-era Japan. The original film premiered at the 2012 Festival, and prompted record ticket sales.

The Japanese Film Festival screens in Adelaide 10-12 & 17-19 October.