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The short stories of Haruki Murakami are becoming an increasing fixture on the big screen––it may have taken considerably more time since their initial publications, but not since Stephen King’s earliest collections has an author’s back catalog found itself getting adapted so rapidly. After Lee Chang-dong and Ryusuke Hamaguchi managed to weave epic tales of obsession and grief from two comparatively conversational works (in their respective masterpieces Burning and Drive My Car), a handful of other tales are adapted far more faithfully for the screen in Pierre Földes’ animated anthology.

Named after Murakami’s 2006 collection of the same name, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman recontextualizes several of his more fantastical short stories, relocating them to a Tokyo still reeling from the devastating earthquakes of March 2011. In doing so, Földes creates something of an unofficial MCU (Murakami Cinematic Universe), tying together several narratives unrelated in their source materials via...

Haruki Murakami doesn’t write in any particular genre — the Japanese literary giant is a genre. While his expansive bibliography has seen him dip his toe into everything from magical realism and hardboiled mysteries to straightforward literary fiction and fitness commentary, his singular worldview ensures that every genre he chooses to play with is bent to his will — never the other way around.

At this point, the novelist’s trademarks are known to anyone with even a passing interest in contemporary literature. His stories unfold like steam rising off a lake, flowing in seemingly directionless patterns before forming something indescribably beautiful. His protagonists are often ambitionless men who appear content to let life happen to them. But as they get sucked into increasingly surreal adventures, their passive dispositions and willingness to go along with things quickly make Murakami’s bizarre plots seem relatively normal.

By seamlessly shifting his focus between...

The Sydney Film Festival, which this year will celebrate its 70th edition, has unveiled its first dozen selections. Seven are feature films, five are documentaries.

“The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that over the previous 69 editions the Sydney festival has showcased more than 10,000 films.

Highlights among the documentaries are two Australian titles. “Rachel’s Farm” follows actor-director Rachel Ward as she revitalizes her beef farm using sustainable farming practices. In “The Last Daughter” Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child and to find her white foster family. Both Matthews and Ward will attend the festival in person.

“Red, White and Brass” – presented as a feature, rather than a documentary – is a fact-based tale of a group of...

In the 1970s, giant robot cartoons sparked a love affair with French fans (including Emmanuel Macron) – now the country is the world’s largest manga importer, and home to a new Murakami film

You might say that Vincent van Gogh was one of the first Japanese pop-culture otaku (geeks) in Europe. With the 19th-century japonisme craze in full swing, he coveted ukiyo-e woodblock prints like modern-day collectors hoard rare manga. Japanese art deeply influenced his work, from his flattening of perspective to his bold lines. He went to the south of France hoping to encounter the same radiant nature and spiritual freshness that figured in his east-Asian fantasia. Upon seeing Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa – a supposed inspiration for his own The Starry Night – he raved to his brother Theo in a letter: “The waves are claws, the boat is caught in them, you can feel it.

Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” shot its way to the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office with a £5.3 million ($6.5 million) opening weekend, according to numbers released by Comscore.

In its second weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Shazam! Fury Of The Gods” collected £1.09 million in second place for a total of £4.09 million. In third place, Warner Bros.’ “Creed III” earned £731,273 and now has a total of £12.8 million after four weekends.

Paramount’s “Scream VI” grossed £597,937 in fourth place in its third weekend for a total of £6.2 million. Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “Allelujah” that took £463,973 in its second weekend for a total of £2.02 million.

The other debut in the top 10 was Paramount’s “80 For Brady” that earned £158,937 in ninth place.

Mubi release “The Five Devils” collected £16,766, including previews.

This week, among speciality releases, Kaleidoscope Entertainment is releasing “Heathers: The Musical,” the filmed version of the hit stage musical,...

Mamoru Oshii was jury president of the new prestigious animation event.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman has scooped the grand prize at the inaugural edition of Niigata International Animation Film Festival (Niaff), which ran in the Japanese port city of Niigata from March 17-23.

The animated feature is the directorial debut of US-born French composer Pierre Földes, who also wrote the screenplay and score, and is based on a collection of short stories by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. It ollows the lives of multiple characters as they navigate existence after the 2011 tsunami in Japan.

Sold by The Match Factory, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman...

"Living with you... was like living with a chunk of air." Zeitgeist Films has revealed the official US trailer with English dubbing for an acclaimed indie animated film titled Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, the feature directorial debut of composer Pierre Földes. This premiered at last year's Annecy Film Festival, also stopping by the Toronto & Busan Film Festivals. Based on several short stories by the renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Utilizing a surreal hybrid animation style that incorporates live-action references, 3D modeling, and traditional layouts, the film begins in Tokyo just days after the earthquake of 2011. Aided by a lost cat and a loquacious giant frog, an unambitious salesman, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant are called upon to save their city from obliteration and find meaning in their lives. "It is sure to appeal to the wide range of Murakami fans and hopefully anyone who wants to take a...

Three-time Grammy winner Cécile McLorin Salvant will team with French studio Miyu Productions and Belgian animator Lia Bertels on “Ogresse,” a wry and irreverent fairytale inspired by a narrative performance piece the musician has toured since 2019.

Described as a murder ballad set to a jazz tempo, the animated musical will hit tragicomic notes as it follows a forest-dwelling ogress, ostracized because of her physical difference and pursued by a young hunter determined to claim her heart in either love or combat. Salvant and Bertels — one a lauded vocalist and one a festival acclaimed auteur – will co-direct, marking their joint feature debut adapting the show for the big screen.

“‘Ogresse’ is a love story inspired by my own experiences,” says Cécile McLorin Salvant. “It explores self-love and beauty ideals with a brave, complex, sometimes cruel and always endearing heroine. It will be an eclectic, dense, rich, and genderless film that will...

Adaptations of the celebrated Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novels and short stories into live-action films, have always generated a mixed bag of outcomes; their success – in my opinion – being often inversely proportional to their adherence to the original source material. To mention some, “Tony Takitani” by Jun Ichikawa, “Hanalei Bay” by Daishi Matsunaga”, “Burning” by Lee Chang-dong and the most recent “Drive My Car” by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The author’s rich universe, fluctuating between magical realism, mundanity and straight-out surrealism, makes visual representation an arduous enterprise. For his ambitious animated feature film debut, “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman”, composer, screenwriter, and animator Pierre Földes draws inspiration from several Murakami’s short stories, to create his own tale about how trauma can open the doors of perception. The film is an international coproduction that involves France, Holland, Luxemburg and Canada, and, so far, has won the Jury Distinction in the Best...