Goa e yõkoso, meaning Welcome to Goa, was the warm greeting given to the Japanese film delegation and their team.
Thanks to FIDE and the Chess Championship, Japan was already in the spotlight in Goa this year, with its flag proudly seen along the Goan coast. Now, the sun has risen once again for Japan at IFFI Goa 2025, where it has been selected as the Country Focus.
Six contemporary Japanese films are being screened: Dear Stranger, Seaside Serendipity, Tiger, Two Seasons – Two Strangers, A Pale View of Hills, and Catching the Stars of This Summer. These films cover a mix of genres such as sci-fi, drama and psychological thrillers, and showcase both established and rising Japanese filmmakers, highlighting the country’s strong film culture and excellence.
Japan is familiar to Indian film lovers. At the 52nd edition of IFFI in 2021, the Japanese film Ring Wandering, directed by Masakazu Kaneko, won the festival’s top prize, the prestigious Golden Peacock in the International Competition section.
In 2019, during the 50th edition of the festival, 10 Years Japan was screened in the specially curated Soul of Asia section.
At the 53rd edition in 2022, two Japanese films, A Far Shore (Tooi Tokoro) by Masaaki Kudo and Yamabuki by director Yamasaki Juichiro, had their Indian premieres at IFFI.
The Restored Category section also showcased a 4K version of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 classic Throne of Blood, along with two versions of Yukiwarisoo (The Rickshaw Man) directed by Hiroshi Inagaki.
The Japanese Film Foundation of India (JFFI), which works closely with IFFI and PVR Cinemas, has played an important role in bringing Japanese cinema to Indian audiences. Over the years, it has screened popular films such as Dance With Me, Lu Over the Wall, Shoplifters, Your Name, The Fable, and Tokyo Ghoul, giving viewers a better understanding of Japanese cinema.
Yukiwarisoo, along with Kurosawa’s critically acclaimed Rashomon, holds the honour of being among the first Japanese films screened at the very first International Film Festival held in Bombay in 1952.
India’s connection with Japan in cinema also appears in Indian films shot in Japan, though not screened at IFFI. The 1966 romantic musical Love in Tokyo, starring Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh, is remembered as the first Indian film shot on location in Japan.
The 1967 film Aman, also filmed partly in Japan and England, is noted for featuring actor Naseeruddin Shah in his debut role, though a small one. The film is also remembered for a rare cameo by Lord Bertrand Russell, the 1950 Nobel Prize winner for Literature.
This connection continued with Indo-Japanese collaborations such as the animated film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992), and The Japanese Wife (2010) starring Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku, directed by award-winning filmmaker Aparna Sen.
More recently, the Telugu movie They Call Him OG (2025) was filmed in Japan. The upcoming film Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Kamal Haasan, also has Japan listed as a shooting location and may become another major production.
With such strong links, there is hope that Japan and India will continue to collaborate on more film projects in the future — perhaps with Goa also becoming part of the storyline and filming locations.
Delegates can enjoy the Japanese Country Focus films by checking the screening schedule.
