Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

The Kid with a Bike (2011; pictured), the latest offering by Belgian filmmaking duo the Dardenne brothers, is screening at Bunkamura’s Le Cinema (2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku; www.bunkamura.co.jp) from Mar 31. The twin directors are known for their studies of people struggling on the margins of Belgian society, and their new film tells the story of a boy seeking the father who abandoned him and the stranger he befriends along the way… The Sendai Short Film Festival lost both venues and funding through the events of March 11. In order to supply the festival with fresh works and help them look forward, 41 directors created shorts on the theme of “tomorrow,” all exactly 3 minutes 11 seconds in length. The resulting omnibus will have a Tokyo screening at Pole Pole (4-4-1 Higashi Nakano, Nakano-ku; www.mmjp.or.jp/pole2) on Mar 31… Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro (3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro Toshima-ku; www.shin-bungeiza.com) will honor veteran actress Shima Iwashita with a retrospective, Mar 30-Apr 10. The screen heroine appeared in iconic ’60s films such as Snow Country (1969) and Double Suicide (1969), and continues to work to this day. The star will hold a Q&A on Mar 31 at 3:30pm.