Events Organized by the Festival
1. Demae Eigasai-A Film Festival Comes to Your Neighborhood
“Demai Eigasai” was a screening event held prior to the actual holding of the Festival where the Chinese film, “I Want to Dance” was exhibited. The exhibition was held at the Fukuoka City Gender Equality Center AMIKAS in Fukuoka on June 23 (Sat.), drawing an audience of 184.
2. Outdoor Opening Ceremony& Special Screening
This year, as the Grand Opening of Asian Month’s main events, an outdoor red carpet gala and opening screening was held. Many Asian filmmakers and film stars and personalities attended the Opening Ceremony as guests. These included special guest Mr. Suo Masayuki, film director of “A Terminal Trust” (Tsui no Shintaku) and Mr. Osugi, a well-known Japanese film critic and television personality. On the big screen, the Korean film “Dancing Queen” was shown as our Opening Film. Although it rained, the venue was full of excitement drawing a crowd of 2,000.
3. Feature Program I: The Complete Cinematic Works of Asghar Farhadi
The Iranian film “Nader and Simin-A Separation” had its Japanese premiere at our Festival in 2011. The film was the 5th feature film for Asghar Farhadi, the spirited Iranian film director who received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. All five of his feature films were shown as part of our feature program. Of the five, three were exhibited for the first time in Japan.
4. Feature Program II: AgriCinema – Cinema Within Agriculture
This feature program showed three Japanese films with agriculture as their theme. Along with the screenings, the Festival held a symposium (see below) in search of the meaning of making films in localities and what meaning creativity brings in our time.
5. Symposium
- Part I :
- “Film Production in South Asia from the Source” (Attendance: 35)
- Moderator :
- Yasuhiro Hariki, Festival Director
- Speakers :
- Prasanna Vithanage, film director of “With You, Without You” (Sri Lanka) and Morshedul Islam, film director of “My Friend Rashed” (Bangladesh)
With such a major country as India in its region, the history and inter-relations within South Asia has been complex due to differences in language, race and religion. Inviting film directors from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Symposium addressed the issues of current conditions in South Asia and filmmaking in the region.
- Part II :
- “Agri-Cinema-Cinema within Agriculture-Films Produced to Enrich the Community” (Attendance: 45)
- Panelists :
- Yuji Nakae, Film Director of “Nabbie’s Love”
Junichiro Yamazaki, Director of “The Sound of Light”
Yasuhiro Hariki, Festival Director
Inviting two filmmakers who make films rooted in regional locality and who exhibit their locality produced films, the Symposium provided an opportunity to deepen an understanding towards the current status of filmmaking and sought out future possibilities of film production.
6. Fukuoka Audience Award Presentation Ceremony and Special Screening
This year, the Fukuoka Audience Award went to “Bol” (English title: “Speak Up”), a Pakistani film made in 2011. For our special screening, we exhibited “Oshikamura Sodoki”, directed by Junji Sakamoto, which became the last film for the late actor, Hanada Yoshio, who passed away in 2011. The film was exhibited after the Ceremony.
7. Barrier Free Screenings
Barrier Free Screenings, organized by the Fukuoka City Volunteer Association and Cinema Arci and held on Saturday, September 22 at JR Kyushu Hall to a crowd of 467, were exhibited with Japanese subtitles and supplementary sound to provide the visually and hearing impaired audience with an opportunity to enjoy motion pictures. The Barrier Free Screenings exhibited the Iranian film “About Elly” directed by Asghar Farhadi and the Japanese film “Postccard” directed by Kaneto Shindo.
8. Films Supported by the Fukuoka Film Commission
Selected films supported by the Fukuoka Film Commission such as “My Uncle” and “Unstoppable Family”, were exhibited.
9. The Fukuoka Prize Special Screening
Marking its 23rd year in 2012, the Fukuoka Prize is presented to laureates who have made achievements in Asian academia, art and culture. A collection of films directed by Filipino film director Kidlat Tahimik was shown at the Festival to commemorate his acceptance of the Fukuoka Prize.
10. Stamp Rally
A stamp rally was held where individuals would get a stamp on a sheet each time they watched festival films or specified films at collaborating movie theaters in the vicinity. When the sheet became full of stamps, it qualified to enter a raffle where prizes such as air travel tickets were given away.
11. Co-sponsored Events
There were seven co-sponsored events held including “Focus on Asia Archives”.
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