The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP26), the UK’s largest annual celebration of Japanese cinema arrives for 2026 with an incredible programme offering audiences the chance to catch up with the latest and greatest selection of cinema to come out of Japan, programmed around this year’s theme Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema.
Films that may be of particular interest to our queer community include:
Blue Boy Trial
(Dir. IIZUKA Kasho, 2025, 106 min, UK Premiere)
Based on the real-life “Blue Boy Incident,” Blue Boy Trial sheds light on a ground-breaking yet long-overlooked case that questioned the legality of gender-affirming surgery and, more profoundly, what it means to find happiness by being your authentic self. With empathy and precision, director IIZUKA Kasho (a transgender man – Angry Son, JFTFP23) and newcomer NAKAGAWA Miyu (a transgender woman) bring to life a moment that reshaped Japan’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues and continues to resonate today.
Blue Boy Trial is in London on 13 February 2026 at the ICA.
I Am What I Am
(Dir. TAMADA Shinya, 2022, 104 min)
A liberating celebration of a woman who faces herself and chooses to live against Japan’s social norms, where traditional love and marriage reign supreme. MIURA Toko (Drive My Car, 2022) leads a fantastic cast of female talent, including MAEDA Atsuko (The Lump in My Heart, JFTFP24) and MAEHARA Ko (Netflix series, First Love, 2022), in a story which challenges traditional ideals of love and womanhood. The film has played internationally, including at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
I Am What I am is in London on 6 February 2026 at the ICA.
Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme Screenings:
https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/films/i-am-what-i-am
For further information:
London Screenings:
London, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) – 6 February – 15 February: https://www.ica.art/
London, Riverside Studios – 18 February – 27 February: https://riversidestudios.co.uk/
