The Guide to Japanese Film Industry & Co -Production - UNIJAPAN

Contents
¡About this guide ............................................................................................... 4
Foreword ............................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 1 Japan’s Film Industry
Postwar Japanese Film Industry and Development ....................................... 7
1. Japanese Film after World War II ............................................................ 7
2. Importing Films ..................................................................................... 8
3. 1950s Mark the Peak of the Japanese Film Industry ................................. 9
4. From 1960s Onwards — Japanese Film Industry in decline .................... 10
5. Boom of Artistic Films and Mini-Theaters ............................................. 10
6. Video Rental Stores and V-Cinema ........................................................ 12
7. Multiplex Cinemas ................................................................................ 13
8. Increasing Number of Screens and Plateauing Number of Audience ...... 14
9. TV Networks Entering the Film Industry ............................................... 15
10. IT Companies Entering the Film Industry .............................................. 16
11. The Japanese Film Bubble
—shift from imported films to Japanese films ........................................ 16
Overview of the Japanese Box-office for Year 2008 ....................................... 18
1. Japanese Films Exceed Imported Films .................................................. 18
2. Further Polarization between Majors and Independents ........................ 19
3. Box-office of Japanese Films .................................................................. 20
4. Box-office of Imported Films ................................................................ 22
Major Distributors ........................................................................................... 25
Statistics 2008 ................................................................................................... 37
Chapter 2 Co-production System in Japan
Development of Co-production System and Its Structure ........................... 40
1. Development of Co-production in Europe ............................................ 40
2. Development of Co-production in East Asia and Japan ......................... 41
3. Trying to Define International Co-production ....................................... 43
4. Works Recognized as Co-production in Japan
Three Patterns and Recent Cases ........................................................... 43
5. Challenges in Co-producing with Japan ................................................. 45
J-Pitch: Support Program for International Co-production ........................ 48
1. J-Pitch Activities ................................................................................... 48
2. Supported Films .................................................................................... 52
Film and Co-production Market in Japan ..................................................... 54
1. TIFFCOM: Marketplace for Film & TV in Asia ...................................... 54
2. Tokyo Project Gathering (TPG) Co-production Market ......................... 55
Other Support Schemes ................................................................................... 57
1. Support Program for the Production of Film and TV Programs on Japan
.............................................................................................................. 57
2. Subsidies for Culture and Arts Promotion Expenses
—Support for Challenging Film Production .......................................... 59
3. Support Program for the Participation at Film Festivals ......................... 62
Chapter 3 Filming in Japan
1. The Establishment of Film Commissions ............................................... 66
2. The Launch of Japan Film Commission (JFC) ....................................... 67
3. Some Useful Tips
—how to get the best support from film commissions ........................... 67
4. AFCNet (Asian Film Commissions Network) members ......................... 68
Chapter 4 Information on Japanese Films
Japanese Film Industry .................................................................................... 71
1. For the Statistics Refer to Motion Picture Producers
Association of Japan, Inc. (EIREN) ........................................................ 71
2. For the Imported Films Refer to Foreign Film Importer-Distributors
Association of Japan (Gaihaikyo) ........................................................... 71
3. For Research and Survey on Japanese Film Market Refer to
Kinema Junpo Film Institute ................................................................. 72
Japanese Film Database (JFDB) ...................................................................... 73
Content of JFDB .................................................................................... 74
Japan Location Database (JLDB) .................................................................... 75
Some Useful Links ........................................................................................... 76
¡About UNIJAPAN ............................................................................................. 78
[ Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other names from cultures where the family name appears
first are printed in romanized form in this booklet in accordance with those customs, with
the family name first and the given name second.
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