Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

©2009 Style Jam

The 1st Tokyo Food Lovers Film Festival will be held at Ebisu Garden Cinema (4-20-2 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku; www.kadokawa-gardencinema.jp/yebisu), November 6-12. The program kicks off with Eatrip (2009; pictured), a documentary on contemporary Japanese food culture, which is screening with English subtitles. Other films include the ramen drama Tampopo (1985), The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) and Chocolat (2000).

Shibuya’s Cinema Vera (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.cinemavera.com) will pay tribute to influential director Kon Ichikawa (1915-2008) with a retrospective from October 30 to November 19. The lineup includes The Burmese Harp (1956), a black-and-white antiwar film, and Ten Dark Women (1961), about a philandering TV producer whose wife and nine mistresses conspire to bump him off.

Genpin, the latest work by 2007 Cannes winner Naomi Kawase, will screen at Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp) from November 6. The film tells the story of an expectant mother’s stay at a clinic in rural Aichi Prefecture that promotes natural childbirth. Screenings at 1pm, Monday through Friday, will welcome expectant mothers and those with small children.