Let‘s Go Karaoke!

In the organizer's words:

カラオケ行こ！ Karaoke iko!
Director: YAMASHITA Nobuhiro
2024, 107 minutes, original language, streaming

A yakuza and a teenager join forces in this perfect comedy!

As the choir director of his school, 14-year-old Satomi (Saitô Jun) has only one thing on his mind: the last competition before he graduates from middle school. However, his everyday life is turned upside down when he is approached by Kyôji (Ayano Gô), a menacing yakuza with an unusual request: "Let's go sing karaoke!" After the initial surprise
After the initial surprise, Satomi learns that the gangster needs singing lessons so that he doesn't lose the gang's karaoke competition - because a cruel punishment awaits the loser: a tattoo chosen by the boss himself! Reluctantly, Satomi helps Kyôji with a series of karaoke lessons and the duo develop an unexpected friendship. With funny twists, heartwarming moments and an outstanding soundtrack, this adaptation brings Wayama Yama's popular manga series to life.

Film series
JFF Theater
Films from the Japanese Film Festival as guests in Cologne

Japanese cinema has long enjoyed great popularity outside Japan and the number of its fans has grown steadily. In Germany, too, numerous historical and current productions from Japan are presented at festivals, retrospectives and special programs.

In response to this development, the Japan Foundation launched the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) in 2016 in addition to its existing film program. This on-site project was intended to promote Japanese films worldwide and was initially aimed at the ten ASEAN countries and Australia under the motto "Japanese Film Anytime, Anywhere" and later also at countries such as Brazil, China and India.

In 2020, the Japan Foundation launched the Japanese Film Festival Online (JFF Online), an online streaming program designed to bring the diversity and quality of Japanese films closer to audiences around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a special edition in 2022/2023 titled JFF+ INDEPENDENT CINEMA, the online program focused on Japanese independent films selected by the directors of Japanese independent cinemas ("Mini Theater").

After the overwhelming success of JFF Online - the films were viewed more than 650,000 times in more than 130 countries - the Japan Foundation finally launched the online streaming platform JFF Theater in August 2024. Under the motto "Moved, Touched & Inspired", a certain number of films and videos are made available with multilingual subtitles. In principle, the films can be accessed anytime and anywhere free of charge, but access restrictions apply to some titles depending on availability and rights.

The range of films on offer extends from famous classics and current feature films to anime and documentaries, supplemented by numerous background stories and interviews. The path to movie enjoyment is simple: after registering for free, you click on the desired film and can go on a journey of discovery.

This spring, a total of nine films will be offered in two seasons:

Streaming period Season 1: 03.02. - 07.05.26
NOBUNAGA CONCERTO / TIME TRAVELLER, The Girl Who Lept Through Time / MONDAYS: See you "this" week! / Every Day a Good Day / The Lines that Define Me

Streaming period season 2: 04.03. - 03.06.26
THERMAE ROMAE / Confetti / Let's Go Karaoke! / BONSAI WARRIOR

In April and May, these nine titles are exceptionally not only available online, but will also be shown on the screen at the Japanese Cultural Institute. The screening dates and film descriptions can be found below.

To the JFF Theater website

Please note:
The two screenings

Let's Go Karaoke! (28.05.2026) and
BONSAI WARRIOR (30.05.2026)

will take place as part of the 18th Cologne Cinema Nights (May 28 - 31, 2026).

https://www.koelner-kino-naechte.de/