ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Film Club: Summer Wars directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Date
Wednesday 1 July 2026
Time
6.30pm (BST)
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Booking Details
Online meeting on Zoom
Please register for the meeting in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive an automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).
Free for members of The Japan Society
Please remember to watch the film in advance. Summer Wars is available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV, and to buy only on Sky Store.
Please help us to keep this event free and open to all!The Japan Society is a charity and its activities are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!   |
Join us for our June Film Club to dive into the imaginative animated movie, Summer Wars, directed by Mamoru Hosoda in 2009, which explores friendship, family and the digital world, set against the backdrop of a virtual crisis that blurs the line between reality and cyberspace.
Summer Wars follows Kenji, a shy and academically gifted maths student who is invited to spend the summer with a classmate’s large, traditional family in rural Japan. What begins as an unfamiliar and slightly tumultuous family gathering soon changes when a powerful problem emerges inside OZ, a vast online world that is deeply connected to everyday life. As the situation in the virtual space begins to affect reality itself, Kenji and the family are sucked into a fast-moving crisis that grows beyond their control. Mamoru Hosoda’s film moves between quiet domestic moments and high-stakes digital chaos, bringing together ideas of family, responsibility, and how people stay connected in an increasingly online world.
Mamoru Hosoda (1967- present) is one of the most acclaimed directors working in Japanese animation today. After beginning his career at Toei Animation, he gained recognition for his distinctive storytelling and visual style. Hosoda has written and directed many films, including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), and Mirai (2018). He is known for blending fantastical elements with intimate family stories, his work often explores themes of connection, identity, and the impact of technology on everyday life. Over the course of his career, Hosoda has received numerous international awards and nominations such as the nomination for the Academy Award in the category Best Animated Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards for his seventh film Mirai, establishing him as the leading voice in contemporary animation.