Last night I caught day 1 of the New York Japan CineFest<\/a> held at Asia Society.\u00a0 2018 marks the seventh anniversary of the event, and it seems to get better every year.\u00a0 The lineup featured six short films that ranged in length from eight to 28 minutes, and included two documentaries.<\/p>\n My favorite was the final film And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool from Makoto Nagahisa, which clo Another highlight of the program was Sugihara Survivors, which told the story of Tokyo journalist Akira Kitade who is trying to trace the identities of those saved by Chiune Sugihara, a.k.a. Japan’s Oskar Schindler (I previously wrote<\/a> about the feature film of Sugihara’s life).\u00a0 This documentary made for the 30th anniversary of Sugihara’s death illuminates the impact of the action Sugihara took in the name of justice, in defiance of his employer and the mood of the times.\u00a0 Director Junichi Kajioka was on hand post-screening with some descendants of Sugihara suvivors, and their comments emphasized how timely this film is in light of the prejudice, refugee crisis and conflicts that we are dealing with today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/andsoweputgoldfishinthepool-1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>cked in at the longest 28 minutes but went by in a flash.\u00a0 It is based on a true story of four 15-year old girls from a small town in Saitama who released 400 goldfish into their high school pool in order to escape the boredom of their daily lives.\u00a0 Its zany tone and fast-paced story kept the audience captivated and laughing.\u00a0 Despite its humorous tone, it poignantly addresses the universal feelings experienced during high school and certainly brought back memories of that time in my life.\u00a0 Last year it received the\u00a0Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance (you can watch the film via this link<\/a>), and it was Nagahisa’s directorial debut.<\/p>\n