The Japan Foundation, Cairo has announced the launch of the Japanese Film Festival 2026, set to take place in Cairo and Alexandria starting Saturday, January 31, 2026. The festival comes as part of celebrations marking the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in August 2025, as well as the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan Foundation, Cairo.
This year’s edition will feature its largest lineup to date, presenting 10 Japanese films spanning a wide range of genres, including animation, drama, thriller, mystery, and comedy. Organizers said the expanded program reflects growing cultural exchange between Japan and Africa and aims to introduce Egyptian audiences to contemporary Japanese cinema in all its diversity.
The festival will officially open with the animated feature “Poupelle of Chimney Town” (2020), a critically acclaimed film about a young boy and a man made of garbage who challenge a smoke-filled world to prove that hope and imagination still exist beyond the sky. To mark the opening, the festival will host Eiko Tanaka, renowned Japanese film producer and co-founder of STUDIO4°C, the studio behind the film.
Among the highlights of the program is “Godzilla Minus One” (2023), the Academy Award-winning film for Best Visual Effects, released as part of the global celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the iconic Godzilla franchise. The festival lineup also includes “Let’s Go Karaoke!” (2024), a comedy-drama portraying an unlikely friendship between a shy choir boy and a yakuza member, as well as “Father of the Milky Way Railroad” (2023), a moving biographical drama about celebrated Japanese author Miyazawa Kenji, told from his father’s perspective.
Additional titles include animated and live-action works designed to appeal to a broad audience, highlighting Japan’s storytelling traditions, technical innovation, and contemporary social themes.
The Japan Foundation, Cairo stated that the festival is part of its broader mission to strengthen cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between Japan and Egypt, using cinema as a bridge between societies. Screenings will be open to the public in both cities, with further details on venues and schedules to be announced.
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