Japanese Film Festival 2018 Classics Program

This October, take a tour of Japanese film history — all from the comfort of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Running as a prelude to this year's Japanese Film Festival, JFF's 2018 classics program will showcase movies from both the Japanese Golden Age and the Japanese New Wave. That covers flicks from the 50s through until the 70s — aka the kind of films you really won't see on a big screen elsewhere.

Highlights include The Pornographers from Cannes Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker Shohei Imamura, which steps into the titular business post-World War II; queer melodrama Manji: The Goddess of Mercy, about two society ladies following their feelings for each other; and Nihonbashi, the first colour movie by Cannes jury prize-winning director Kon Ichikawa.

In total, eight films will screen between October 3 and 31, all focused around the theme of passion and obsession. And, in particularly ace news, the whole classics program is free.