Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2014

Cannes, Berlin and Venice are known as the “Big Three” when it comes to film festivals. And just in case you didn’t receive your VIP passes in recent years, Human Trust Cinema Shibuya (7-8F Cocoti Bldg, 1-23-16 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku; www.ht-cinema.com) is recapping past winners in a program running through September 5. The lineup includes the Australian coming-of-age film Samson and Delilah (pictured), which took the Caméra d’Or for best first feature at Cannes in 2009, and also dips back into history with Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent (1940)… Treat yourself to a little culture as the Opéra national de Paris resumes its series of international simulcasts of its acclaimed performances. The ballet Balanchine is on from September 5, and soprano Diana Damrau takes the lead in La Traviata in early November. Shown live at Bunkamura’s Le Cinema (2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku; www.bunkamura.co.jp) and Toho Cinemas Nihonbashi (2-3-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku; www.tohotheater.jp)… You won’t be able to stop your toes from tapping during the Japanese music documentary Gospel, which explores the roots of the choral form in the American South and its widespread popularity in Japan—despite only 1 percent of the population being Christian. On from Aug 23 at Cinemart Roppongi (3-8-15 Roppongi, Minato-ku; www.cinemart.co.jp/theater/roppongi/). KM