guests included Toshiaki Toyoda, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Noboru Iguchi, Toshiaki Toyoda, Isao Yukisada, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Tomorowo Taguchi, Daichi Watanabe, and Hitoshi Yazaki. The 2011, JAPAN CUTS adopted a new name, JAPAN CUTS: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. Thirty-two films screened over the course of thirty-three screenings, ten of which were co-presented with NYAFF. The series began on July 7 and finished on July 22. Screenings included the New York premiere of Haru's Journey, starring Tatsuya Nakadai, the world premiere of Takashi Miike's Ninja Kids!!!, and a special screening of Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale. Eight special guests attended the festival, including directors Masashi Yamamoto, Tak Sakaguchi, Yudai Yamaguchi and Yoshimasa Ishibashi and actress Sora Aoi. In 2012, the festival increased in scope and scale, screening 39 films. 12 films were co-presented with NYAFF. The series began on July 12 and concluded on July 28. The opening film was the U.S. premiere of Hitoshi One's Love Strikes!, centerpiece presentation the New York premiere of Shuichi Okita's The Woodsman and the Rain, and closing film the North American premiere of Takashi Yamazaki’s Space Battleship Yamato. 8 special guests attended, including Toshi Fujiwara, Yu Irie, Kenji Kohashi, Hisako Matsui, Masami Nagasawa, Naoko Ogigami, Toshiaki Toyoda, Koji Yakusho (recipient of the CUT ABOVE Award for Excellence in Film). The 2013 edition scaled back to 24 films, with independent productions and big budget epics. JAPAN CUTS again dovetailed with NYAFF, co-presenting 12 titles. The series began on July 11 and concluded July 21. The festival’s opening film was the U.S. premiere of Toshiaki Toyoda’s I’M FLASH!, with the closing film the U.S. Premiere of Shinji Higuchi and Isshin Inudo’s The Floating Castle. 5 special guests attended, including Junichi Inoue, Justin Leach, Regge Life, Yukihiro Toda, and Toyoda. JAPAN CUTS 2014 increased the number of films in the lineup to 28, further diversifying genre and including more transnational productions, such as Dave Boyle’s Japanese-American Man from Reno and the Mo Brothers’ Indonesian-Japanese Killers. 13 films were co-presented with NYAFF. The series began on July 10 and concluded July 20. The festival's opening film was the U.S. premiere of Takashi Miike's The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji, the centerpiece presentation the world premiere of Momoko Ando's 0.5mm, and the closing film the North American premiere of Tetsuichiro Tsuta's The Tale of Iya. 8 special guests attended, including Ando, Boyle, Kazuki Kitamura (recipient of the CUT ABOVE