2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival
The 2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival will be from March 13–26 at both Row House – Lawrenceville AND Row House – Hollywood!
The theme for 2026 will be Cult Cinema of Japan, but as always we’ll have new titles, anime, special events and more.
SOLD OUT – Super Fan Pass $84 –Includes access to all events and showtimes for the full two week of the festival. Super Fan sells out every year!
$84
Week 1 – $62 – Includes access to all events and showtimes the first week of the festival, including opening night. (March 13-19)
Week 2 – $62 –Includes access to all events and showtimes the first week of the festival, including closing night. (March 20-26) $55
Films and events will be announced in early February 2026. Early bird pricing ended February 1, 2026
Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space
- Fri, Mar 13
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Fri, Mar 13 @ 6:15 pm: OpenNiteFri, Mar 13 @ 9:00 pm: OpeningNite
Director: t.o.L Run Time: 92 min. Release Year: 2002 Language: Japanese
Starring: Béatrice Dalle, Hisayo Mochizuki, Shinji Takeda, Takeshi Katō
Opening night of the Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival is for cats… and boy do we have a title...
Lady Snowblood
- Sat, Mar 14
- Mon, Mar 16
- Tue, Mar 17
- Wed, Mar 18
- Thu, Mar 19
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Toshiya Fujita Run Time: 97 min. Release Year: 1973 Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles
Starring: Masaaki Daimon, Meiko Kaji, Miyoko Akaza, Toshio Kurosawa
In this 1970s cult classic, a woman raised to be an assassin exacts vengeance upon the people who destroyed her family. Based on the manga of the same name, it’s a dazzlingly violent adventure into the heart of revenge in early 20th century Japan.
Scarlet
- Sat, Mar 14
- Sun, Mar 15
- Mon, Mar 16
- Tue, Mar 17
- Wed, Mar 18
- Thu, Mar 19
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Sun, Mar 15 @ 3:50 pm: Tue, Mar 17 @ 7:15 pm: Snack Pack
Director: Mamoru Hosoda Run Time: 112 min. Release Year: 2025 Language: Japanese
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Kotaro Yoshida, Mana Ashida, Masaki Okada, Yutaka Matsushige
Don’t miss this new anime based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet from Mamoru Hosada — director of The Girl Who...
Kokuho
- Sat, Mar 14
- Sun, Mar 15
- Mon, Mar 16
- Tue, Mar 17
- Wed, Mar 18
- Thu, Mar 19
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Sang-il Lee Run Time: 174 min. Release Year: 2025 Language: Japanese
Starring: Mitsuki Takahata, Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Shinobu Terajima, Soya Kurokawa
Don’t miss this Oscar nominated drama set in Nagasaki, 1964: Following the death of his yakuza father, 15-year-old...
House
- Sat, Mar 14
- Sun, Mar 15
- Mon, Mar 16
- Tue, Mar 17
- Wed, Mar 18
- Thu, Mar 19
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Sat, Mar 14 @ 7:50 pm: Bananas and Watermelon!
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi Run Time: 88 min. Release Year: 1977 Language: Japanese
Starring: Ai Matsubara, Kimiko Ikegami, Kumiko Ohba, Mieko Satoh, Miki Jinbo
Possibly the most cult of the Japanese cult film universe! Director Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s wild ride of a film...
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
- Sat, Mar 14
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Run Time: 67 min. Release Year: 1989 Language: Japanese
Starring: Kei Fujiwara, Naomasa Musaka, Nobu Kanaoka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomorowo Taguchi
A “metal fetishist”, driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he’s made to embed metal into...
His Motorbike, Her Island
- Sun, Mar 15
- Mon, Mar 16
- Tue, Mar 17
- Wed, Mar 18
- Thu, Mar 19
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi Run Time: 90 min. Release Year: 1986 Language: Japanese
Starring: Kiwako Harada, Noriko Watanabe, Riki Takeuchi, Ryōichi Takayanagi, Takahiro Tamura
From the director of House comes a motorcycle love story! Ko, a motorbike enthusiast from the city wandering...
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
- Fri, Mar 20
- Sat, Mar 21
- Sun, Mar 22
- Mon, Mar 23
- Tue, Mar 24
- Wed, Mar 25
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Sat, Mar 21 @ 7:15 pm: Brew & View
Director: Masaaki Yuasa Run Time: 92 min. Release Year: 2017 Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles
This wild and fun film follows two university students – a resilient boy and a fearless girl –...
Funeral Parade of Roses
- Fri, Mar 20
- Sat, Mar 21
- Sun, Mar 22
- Mon, Mar 23
- Tue, Mar 24
- Wed, Mar 25
- Thu, Mar 26
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Toshio Matsumoto Run Time: 105 min. Release Year: 1969 Language: Japanese
Starring: Emiko Azuma, Kiyoshi Awazu, Shinnosuke Ikehata, Toshiya Fujita, Yoshio Tsuchiya
We’re thrilled to show this rarely screened early queer Japanese film. In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar...
Battle Royale
- Fri, Mar 20
- Sat, Mar 21
- Sun, Mar 22
- Mon, Mar 23
- Tue, Mar 24
- Wed, Mar 25
- Thu, Mar 26
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Run Time: 122 min. Rating: R Release Year: 2000 Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles
Starring: Aki Maeda, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sosuke Takaoka, Taro Yamamoto, Tatsuya Fujiwara
Before there was the Hunger Games… there was Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale. High schoolers stranded on a remote...
Cult-O-Rama Secret Cinema: JFF Edition!
- Fri, Mar 20
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Run Time: 150 min.
We’ve got another one-shot for ya, this time coming at you from within the Japanese Film Festival! We...
Burst City
- Thu, Mar 26
Midnight screenings happen at midnight the day listed. For example, if it says Saturday At Midnight, please arrive by 11:45pm Saturday night.
Director: Gakuryu Ishii Run Time: 115 min. Release Year: 1982 Language: Japanese
Starring: Hitomi Tsurukawa, Kou Machida, Shigeru Izumiya, Shigeru Muroi, Takanori Jinnai
Don’t miss the 2026 closing night with this wild and energetic punk film! We’ll have live music, Sapporo...