WFU hosts Japanese Film Festival

All films are open to the public and start at 7 p.m. in Carswell Hall’s Annenberg Forum, Room 111. The films are appropriate for ages 17 and older.

The series began with “Yumeji” Feb. 1.

On Feb. 8, the series will continue with “The Geisha House (Omocha).” Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, the film follows the life of Tokiko, a girl from a poverty-striken family who comes to serve as a maid at a geisha house and then trains to become a geisha.

“After Life (Wonderful Life),” a 1999 film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, will be screened Feb. 15. The film takes place in Limbo, a way station where the newly dead are invited to choose their happiest memory. The memory is then recreated on film by the Limbo staff and becomes the memory they take with them into eternity. The series concludes Feb. 24 with “Charisma.” Starring Koji Yakushi, “Charisma” follows the story of Yabuike, a police detective who inadvertently causes the death of a hostage. While on leave, he discovers a tree in a forest that has a medical life- support system around it. The tree, named Charisma, is the center of a battle between Kiriyama, a young man who wants to save it and Jimbo, a botanist who sees it as a monster that will destroy the forest. Yabuike eventually finds himself in the position of making a life-or-death choice.

For more information about the festival, call 336-758-4817.