The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme returns to Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, from Monday 16 February to Tuesday 17 March 2026.

Under the core theme of Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema the arts centre will be hosting five films.

Director KAI Sayaka spent more than 20 years crafting the philosophical science fiction drama Adabana (Mon 16 Feb, 8pm). In a near-future world, a wealthy but terminally ill Shinji meets his clone. Created using cutting-edge technology, their encounter makes the dying Shinji question himself and the sanctity of life.

Dry supernatural comedy/mystery The Man Who Failed to Die (Sat 21 Feb, 2pm) finds failed suicide Ippei returning home to discover a ghost who implores him to kill his daughter's stalker. Soon, a strange bond forms between the living and the dead in the latest film from director TANAKA Seiji, who made a sensational international debut with 2018's Melancholic.

In What Should We Have Done? (Sun 1 Mar, 5pm) documentary film-maker FUJINO Tomoaki confronts his elder sister's schizophrenia - a condition their doctor parents denied and refused treatment for - in a deeply personal, emotionally charged and haunting examination of family taboos, human dignity and self-destruction through illness.

Tender anime The Last Blossom (Thu 5 Mar, 8pm) finds a lonely prisoner and former gang member recounting his past and pondering the meaning of life with his sole companion - a potted balsam plant. Betrayed and manipulated from a young age, he clings to one thing, the hope of turning his life around.

Finally, Ura Aka: L’Aventure (Tue 17 Mar, 5.30pm) is a director KATO Takuya’s striking 2020 feature debut. A relatively unknown gem in which a boutique manager creates a secret social media persona to escape her monotonous life, it's a stylish and ambitious drama that explores the desires and frustrations that women face in contemporary life.

The UK’s largest festival of Japanese cinema, the films selected for the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP) ask if it is really possible to know our true selves. And if so, would such revelations lead to happiness and freedom, or might they instead bring disastrous and harsh consequences?

For more information about JFTFP at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, and tickets, see: warwickartscentre.co.uk