The Japan Foundation Movie Festival, jointly organized annually by the Japan Foundation and the Korean Film Archive, will take place from January 30 (Fri) to February 26 (Thu), 2026. This third program, curated around the theme “Cinema and Literature,” features 12 Japanese films adapted from Japanese epic novels and international literary works.

This year’s festival will also pay tribute to legendary Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai, who passed away on November 8, 2025, at the age of 92, by screening six films in which he appeared. The lineup includes The White Tower and The Waste Land, based on epic novels by Toyoko Yamazaki; Mount Hakkoda, adapted from Jiro Nitta’s nonfiction work Death March on Mount Hakkoda; Muddy River, based on the novel by Teru Miyamoto; and Akira Kurosawa’s distinctive interpretations of William Shakespeare’s tragedies, including Throne of Blood, The Bad Sleep Well, and Ran. These timeless masterpieces, whose artistic power truly shines on the big screen, will be presented together in this special program.