Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2012

The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is being held until February 19 in the German capital, and Japan is once again well represented in the festival lineup. Founded in 1951 by a US military officer, the festival is now considered one of the “big three” in Europe along with Cannes and Venice. This year, entries from Japan include Rent-a-Cat [pictured] by Naoko Ogigami, about an eccentric young woman who rents a cat to lonely people, and the teen drama The End of Puberty by Shoko Kimura, which previously won the PIA film festival at home. There are also two hard-hitting family dramas from Japan: Our Homeland by Yang Yong-Hi, about a single family spanning Japan and North Korea, and Just Pretend to Hear by Kaori Imaizumi, the story of a young girl who loses her mother. Documentaries in the fest include two about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, No Man’s Zone by Toshi Fujiwara and Nuclear Nation by Atsushi Funahashi. The last Japanese filmmaker to win the top award in the festival was Hayao Miyazaki, who took home the Golden Bear for his film Spirited Away in 2002. Festival winners will be posted at www.berlinale.de/en