The Japan Film Program is organized by the Baltimore-Kawasaki Sister City Committee (BKSCC) in partnership with Towson University College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Dean’s Office , along with the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University and its Director, Joanna Pecore. Films are hosted by and from the private collection of Reed Hessler, longtime host on WBJC.

Unless otherwise noted, all film screenings are at 1pm ET and take place at the Towson University Center for the Arts, Art Lecture Hall, Room 2032, 7700 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204
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Screenings are free but registration is required. To register, find the film on Asian Arts & Culture Center’s event page or on the Baltimore-Kawasaki Committee’s events page and click the registration link next to the film.

Japan Film Program – Spring Semester

February 15, 2025

Our Neighbor Miss Yae
隣の八重ちゃん Tonari no Yae-chan

This 1934 classic comedy-drama—which film historian, Alexander Jacoby, called a “subtle, charming, funny and bittersweet story of family life”—depicts the intertwining lives of suburban neighbors.  Warm your heart with the flirtations of young love, while empathizing with the tensions and uncertainty of a complicated marriage. (black and white) Directed by Yasujiro Shimazu. 76 minutes.

April 19, 2025

The Hidden Fortress
隠し砦の三悪人 Kakushi Toride no San Akunin

Join us in marveling at this beautiful, imaginative, funny, tender, and sophisticated Kurosawa jewel. Critic, Armond White, called this 1958 period adventure film an “epic of self-discovery and heroic action.” (black and white) Directed by Akira Kurosawa. 126 minutes.

June 2025 (Date TBD)

The End of Summer
小早川家の秋

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. 103 minutes.

July 19, 2025

Flowing
流れる Nagareru

This 1956 classic drama depicts women in postwar Japan through the lens of a geisha house that is struggling financially. Based on a novel by Aya Koda, the film illuminates how a “family” of women navigates tensions between tradition and modernity. (black and white) Directed by Mikio Naruse. 117 minutes.

The Japan Film Program is organized by the Baltimore-Kawasaki Sister City Committee (BKSCC) in partnership with Towson University College of Fine Arts and Communication Dean’s Office (COFAC), along with the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University and its Director, Joanna Pecore. Films are hosted by and from the private collection of Reed Hessler, longtime host on WBJC.

Unless otherwise noted, all film screenings are at 1pm ET and take place at the Towson University Center for the Arts, Art Lecture Hall, Room 2032, 7700 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204
.

Screenings are free but registration is required. To register, find the film on Asian Arts & Culture Center events page and click the registration link next to the film.

Japan Film Program – Fall Semester

September 21, 2024

Gate of Hell
地獄門 Jigokumon

Enjoy this rare screening of a 1953 period film about a samurai’s tragic obsession with a married woman. Gate of Hell was Daiei Film’s first color film and the first Japanese color film to be released outside Japan. Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. Winner of the Best Costume Design and the Best Foreign Language Film Awards at the 27th Academy Awards and the Grand Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. 89 minutes.

October 12, 2024

Tampopo
タンポポ Dandelion

Uplift your spirits with this 1986 comedy film about transforming a mediocre ramen shop into the epitome of perfection. Hailed by Eater magazine as “a love letter to ramen” and “one of the best food movies of all time.” (color) Directed by Juzo Itami. The first thirty registered attendees will be served a bowl of ramen. 114 minutes.

November 2, 2024

The Burmese Harp
ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no Tategoto

In this 1956 drama, a young Japanese officer learns and plays the Burmese harp to lift the spirits of his battalion. Silently and independently, he confronts and protests war in his own way at the close of the Pacific War in Burma. Directed by Kon Ichikawa. 117 minutes.

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Japan Film Program – Spring Semester

January 13, 2024

Sound of the Mountain
山の音 Yama no Oto

Observe and meditate on the experiences of an elderly businessman caught in a web of family relations, including the complicated and struggling marriages of his adult children. This 1954 Japanese drama is based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata. (color) Directed by Mikio Naruse. 

March 16, 2024

Where Chimneys Are Seen
煙突の見える場所 Entotsu no mieru basho

Delight in the drama swirling around a mysterious baby who is left at the home of Hiroko and Ryukichi Ogata. This 1953 classic comic drama is based on the novel, Mujaki no Hitobito, by Rinzo Shiina and is representative of the shoshimin-eiga film drama focusing on the lives of ordinary middle-class people. Directed by Heinosuke Gosho.

May 10, 2024

Early Summer
麦秋 Bakushū

Date/time: Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 1pm ET

Location: Towson University Center for the Arts, Art Lecture Hall, Room 2032, 7700 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204

Admission: Free.
Advance registration required
.
More info & to register: Registration form

This 1951 classic drama explores post-World War II social transformation—especially intergenerational conflict, a family’s involvement in a young woman’s (Noriko) decision about marriage, and her will for independence. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.

July 20, 2024

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums
残菊物語 Zangiku monogatari

Date/time: Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 1pm ET

Location: Towson University Center for the Arts, Art Lecture Hall, Room 2032, 7700 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204

Admission: Free.
Advance registration required
.
More info & to register: Registration form

This 1939 classic comic drama, based on a short story by Shofu Muramatsu, it follows the struggles and transformation of Kiku, the adopted son of a kabuki master.  Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. 

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Japan Film Program – 2023

September 16, 2023

Carmen Comes Home
カルメン故郷に帰る Karumen kokyō ni kaeru

Enjoy this rare screening of a 1951 classic comedy—Japan’s first color film—from Reed Hessler’s private collection. Follow the encounters of Lily Carmen and her lovesick friend Maya when they leave Tokyo to visit Carmen’s small rural hometown in Nagano. (color) Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. 

November 11, 2023

Mr. Thank You
有りがたうさん Arigatō-san

Enjoy this rare screening of a 1936 classic comic drama from Reed Hessler’s private collection. Based on a short story by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Yasunari Kawabata and noted for its location shooting, this film portrays the lives of various bus passengers and their diverse reasons for travel from Izu to Tokyo during depression-era Japan. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. 

Join the Baltimore-Kawasaki Sister City Committee for this spring picnic and celebrate the sister cities relationship between Baltimore and Kawasaki in Japan!

Date: Sunday June 2, 2024
Time:
10:30 am — 2.5 miles Social Walk
12 pm — Mellow Stroll, less than a mile
12:30–3:30 pm — Picnic
Location: Patapsco Valley State Park Glen Artney #55
Admission: Tickets required
For more information & to purchase tickets: bit.ly/BKSCC_2024_Picnic

This is the Baltimore-Kawasaki Sister City Committee’s annual fundraiser and tickets are $25.79. Kids under 12 are free. There will be delicious Japanese grilled food. A chance to see your friends. And feel free to bring a side dish or dessert to share. The committee will provide potato salad and cookies along with grilled selections, chicken and seafood. Drinks are tea and water—and a sip of sake. Before the picnic, there is an opportunity to walk in the park. Trails are pet-friendly (must be leashed).