Film Screening: KOKUHO (2025)

Directed by Sang-il Lee (Japan, 2025, 175 min.). Japanese with English subtitles.

Set in the rarefied world of traditional Japanese kabuki theater, Kokuho follows the decades-long artistic journey of a gifted young performer determined to master one of the country’s most exacting stage traditions. Tracing rivalries, mentorships, and the intense discipline required to embody kabuki’s stylized forms, the film offers a sweeping portrait of devotion to craft.

A major critical and commercial success, Kokuho became the most successful live-action film of all time in Japan and was selected as the nation’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, further cementing its status as a landmark contemporary Japanese epic.

“Bursting with emotion and beauty; its costumes, hair and makeup are dazzling. Sang-il Lee’s film tells a compelling story about friendship, the weight of history, the quest for perfection, and the torturous road to becoming a living national treasure.” —NPR

Schedule

• 5:30 p.m. - Light reception with special preview of Art Museum exhibition, Dramatic Prints of Japan
• 6:00 p.m. - Introduction to Kabuki by Matthew Matthew Chudnow, PhD., Assistant Professor of Japanese, CCSU
• 6:30 p.m. - Film screening

OFFICIAL TRAILER (courtesy of GKIDS)