Culture through film
We introduce Japanese culture through films that open windows onto social questions, lived experience, and creative expression.
About BJFF
Beyond Film,People Connect.
A cultural platform for exchange and dialogue between Japan and the United States.
Boston Japan Film Festival (BJFF) has fostered a space for cultural exchange and dialogue between Japan and the United States while introducing Japanese culture through film.
It began in 2011, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, as a small film festival created to convey the situation in Japan to Boston. Today, it is presented by Wa Link Boston, Inc. in collaboration with the MIT Japan Program.
What we value is not only watching films, but also sharing what we feel through them and deepening our understanding of one another’s differences and backgrounds.
Through post-screening Q&A sessions and panel discussions, BJFF creates opportunities to encounter diverse cultures and values, and to foster new connections and dialogue.
BJFF is not a platform for promoting any particular ideology or predetermined conclusion. Rather, it aspires to be a cultural platform that respects all participants and places dialogue at its center, open to a diversity of perspectives.
Through cultural exchange and dialogue between Japan and the United States, we seek to nurture mutual understanding and harmony, and to help build a more peaceful future beyond.
That is the kind of space BJFF strives to create: one that connects people beyond film.
What We Value
Film, Reflection, and Dialogue
Thoughtful exchange
We create opportunities to reflect, ask questions, and share perspectives after the screen goes dark.
Respect for difference
We remain nonpartisan and dialogue-centered, respecting participants and staying open to diverse perspectives.
Organization
Presented by Wa Link Boston, Inc.
Wa Link Boston, Inc. is the organization that presents Boston Japan Film Festival. Through the festival, it creates opportunities to encounter Japanese film and culture and share conversation. The 2026 festival is co-hosted by the MIT Japan Program.