The third edition of Japanese Film Festival to screen across seven cities in India

The festival, to be launched by September end, was preceded by a curtain-raiser event in Delhi’s PVR Home, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj on Monday.
Special performance by Okinawa Ki Hawa 2019 at PVR HOME
Special performance by Okinawa Ki Hawa 2019 at PVR HOME

When one thinks of Japanese cinema, titles like Roshomon, Ugetsu and Tokyo Story tops the list. These movies, with a heavy Indian fan list, have contributed immensely to world cinema. Adding more names to this acclaimed list is the third edition of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF), in collaboration with PVR Cinemas.

The festival, to be launched by September end, was preceded by a curtain-raiser event in Delhi’s PVR Home, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj on Monday. For JFF, 25 Japanese language films, with subtitles, will be showcased across seven cities in India. The six-month-long event will depict contemporary Japanese movies from diverse genres such as romance, drama and comedy.

“I believe films have a power to bring people from different cultures together,” said Kaoru Miyamoto, Director-General, Japan Foundation, Delhi, at the launch. “Many Indians are well aware of the big filmmakers from Japan, such as Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi among others. This festival would be an extension to the films made by them,” he added.

According to him, these films are important because it will break stereotypes among people in Japanese film culture. “One film can’t define an entire culture of the country. It is essential to see a variety of films to get an in-depth view of a civilisation,” reasoned Miyamoto.

The festival will open with animation film Weathering with You directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Makoto Shinkai. Other films to be screened include Dance with Me, Shoplifters, Your Name, Perfect World, Bento Harassment, Children of the Sea, Kingdom and The Fable etc.

Present at the launch was Japanese Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu. He said that such an event is important because, “This festival is on a much larger scale than before in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata among other cities.

Through these movies, the Indian audience will in a way come closer to Japan by knowing the life’s experiences of the Japanese people.”

From : September 27

At: Multiple Venues. For tickets log on https://www.jfindia.org.in/

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