In Greater Manchester, the festival will play at three venues across two months
Whilst this year’s Oscar nominations are due to be announced this week, there’s no rest in the film industry as a top festival showcasing some of the best upcoming movies, as well as prestigious classics, heads back to the UK this month – with a big stop in Manchester planned.
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP) will be held at various venues across the city centre and Greater Manchester between February and March. The festival’s previous edition toured 32 cinemas nationwide and is now adding two new stops to its 2026 itinerary.
Alongside screenings at HOME in Manchester, the festival will head to Leigh Film Factory and will also form part of this year’s Manchester Film Weekender with screenings at Altrincham’s Little Theatre. The 2026 JFTFP festival will take place from February 6 to March 31.
Showcases a variety of award-winning Japanese films at venues across the UK, as well as a blend of recent and retrospective releases for audiences, the Manchester leg of the festival will get underway in Altrincham with a screening of She Taught Me Serendipity. The film, from acclaimed female director Ohku Akiko, follows two newfound friends who face a shocking event which changes them forever.
This year’s programme, which will take place in Altrincham until February 8 before heading to HOME and Leigh, will also screen Blue Boy Trial on its final day at Little Theatre, an LGBTQ+ drama led by a transgender filmmaking team. Set in 1960s Tokyo, the film follows the government’s crackdown on prostitution in the area. But as transgender women prostitutes, known as “Blue Boys”, cannot be prosecuted as they are legally registered as males, it causes frustrated authorities to instead arrest Dr. Akagi Masao, a gender-affirming surgery provider.
Another highlight, on March 2 at HOME, is Missing Child Videotape – a J-horror produced by genre icon Shimizu Takashi. The film follows a young man who receives a VHS tape showing the exact moment his brother vanished, prompting him to visit the area and investigate.
The festival will be held in Leigh from March 6 to 27, screening heist movie Angry Squad at Film Factory on 13 March. Following a tax office employee who falls victim to a conman’s scams, he assembles a team of misfits to reclaim a hidden fortune that will pay off his debts.
Other highlights include Kensuke Sonomura’s crime thriller Ghost Killer, emotive drama A Bad Summer from Hideo Jojo and family drama Like Asura, which is based on the acclaimed book of the same name. Retrospective releases include 1958’s Conflagration and 2003’s Like Asura, the latter being helmed by one of Japan’s most renowned directors Morita Yoshimitsu.
Junko Takekawa, Tour programmer and Senior Arts Programme Officer at the Japan Foundation, said of this year’s line-up: “We are very pleased to see our long-running programme, the UK’s largest celebration of Japanese cinema, continue to grow in size and popularity in the Manchester area. This year, in addition to Manchester’s HOME cinema, we’re excited to be expanding into Greater Manchester by bringing some fantastic titles from the programme to Altrincham and Leigh for the very first time.
“Some highlights for Manchester audiences include The Hotel of My Dream, a must-see for anyone who enjoyed author Asako Yuzuki’s novel Butter, a best-seller in the UK, as it covers the writer’s early life, and Blue Boy Trial, a moving drama which covers a key moment in the history of LGBTQ+ rights in Japan. There are many more to choose from, we look forward to seeing you there!”
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme will run from February 6 to March 31 at Manchester’s HOME, Leigh Film Factory and Altrincham Little Theatre. Tickets and more information can be found online.
