Sneak Preview Screening of "The Last Blossom (Housenka)" and Panel,
Q&A Session in collaboration with TIFF featuring director Baku Kinoshita, 
TIFF Programming Director Shozo Ichiyama 
and TIFF Animation Section Programming Advisor Ryota Fujitsu
Thursday, October 9, 2025

TIFF panel: 5:00 – 5:45 pm 
Screening: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Q&A session: 7:35 – 8:20 pm
        
The Film Committee is pleased to once again welcome our friends from the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), to discuss film and event highlights from the upcoming 38th edition of the festival, as well as this year's plans for the Animation Section.

TIFF Programming Director Shozo Ichiyama and TIFF Animation Section Programming Advisor Ryota Fujitsu will be joined by award-winning animation director Baku Kinoshita ("Odd Taxi") on the panel, which will be followed by a special English-subtitled screening of Kinoshita's feature debut, "The Last Blossom." The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Festival, where it drew comparisons to work by Martin Scorsese and Takeshi Kitano. The director will also be on hand for a Q&A session following the screening.

The 38th edition of TIFF will run from October 27 – November 5 at venues in the Hibiya/Marunouchi/Yurakucho/Ginza area.

Sneak Preview Screening: THE LAST BLOSSOM (Housenka)
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan, 2025 90 minutes

Directed and Character Design by: Baku Kinoshita
Written by: Kazuya Konomoto
Produced by: Maki Kambe, Hirofumi Ito, Tomoki Ueda
Animation Producers: Ryoichiro Matsuo, Kinue Ito    
Voice cast:: Kaoru Kobayashi, Junki Tozuka, 
Hikari Mitsushima, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Pierre Taki 
Film courtesy of Pony Canyon

For more (in Japanese): https://anime-housenka.com/

There's nothing more hopeful than a story about second chances, and Baku Kinoshita's singular debut feature, "The Last Blossom," deploys deceptively simple, color-soaked 2D animation to take audiences on an unusual and moving journey of redemption - with a housenka (garden balsam) as their guide.

Akutsu (Kobayashi) is a dying inmate who's been in prison for decades. As he lies on his futon, nearing death, a voice suddenly snaps him awake. "What a pathetic life you've had," it says. "I'll turn it around," Akutsu responds, apparently unphased that the voice is that of a potted balsam in a can. Egged on by its sarcastic remarks, Akutsu recalls life back in 1986, when he was a small-time yakuza living with Nana (Mitsushima) and her son Kensuke in a shabby apartment. Akutsu enjoyed sketching the garden and making maps of the neighborhood, but his real joy, although he was never able to adequately express it, was being with Nana and Kensuke.

When the little boy is suddenly diagnosed with heart disease, Akutsu knows he must do something to raise the millions of yen necessary for a transplant overseas. Unfortunately, his "older bro" Tsutsumi convinces him that a daring heist is the only way to raise the cash in time. Taking the fall for the crime, Akutsu spends the rest of his years wondering if Nana got his letters, with their hidden message. Reminding him that his "life’s lamplight has just about flickered out," his noisy cellmate helps Akutsu discover the answer before it's too late.

Carefully skirting sentimentality, Kinoshita imbues his tale with final-act revelations that pull all the missing strands together and deliver an emotional punch. Audiences are especially not likely to forget the film’s stirring rendition of the classic Ben E. King song "Stand by Me." 
 
BAKU KINOSHITA is an animation director, character designer and illustrator who has been active since studying at Tama Art University. After joining video production company P.I.C.S., he worked as an animator and assistant director on commercials and music videos. In 2021, he made his directorial debut and handled character design for the TV anime "Odd Taxi" which earned him a Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director, among other international honors.  "The Last Blossom" marks his feature debut, and had its world premiere in competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Festival.

SHOZO ICHIYAMA began his career producing films at Shochiku and Office Kitano, focusing mainly on work by non-Japanese filmmakers, and continues to be an independent producer. Among his major films are Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Flowers of Shanghai" (1998), Samira Makhmalbaf's "Blackboards" (2000), and Jia Zhangke's "A Touch of Sin" (2013). From 1992 to 1999, Ichiyama served as a programmer for Tokyo International Film Festival, before launching Tokyo FILMeX in 2000. He served as the program director there until 2021, when he left to become the Programming Director of TIFF. Since 2013, he has been teaching at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He is the recipient of the 2019 Kawakita Award.

RYOTA FUJITSU is an anime critic. He became a freelance writer after working as a newspaper reporter and weekly magazine editor. Since 2000, his writing has primarily focused on anime-related topics and has been featured in magazines, blu-ray booklets, and web media. His books include "Anime 'Hyoronka' Sengen" (The Declaration of an 'Anime Critic', 2003) and "Channeru wa Itsumo Anime" (Channels Are Always Anime, 2010). He is an adjunct lecturer at Tokyo Polytechnic University, and has served as TIFF Animation Section Programming Advisor since 2020, when the section was launched.

TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (TIFF) is the only Japanese film festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).* TIFF started in 1985 as Japan's first major film festival and has grown to become one of the leading film festivals in Asia. Celebrating its 38th anniversary in 2025, TIFF continues to seek out excellent films from around the world and bring them to Tokyo, where filmmakers and film fans can enjoy them and be inspired. TIFF is serving as a member of the FIAPF Festivals Committee from 2021 to 2027.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online. 
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.  

- Karen Severns, Film Committee

*FIAPF is an international organization that oversees issues related to the film industry and international film festivals.