  |
| HELD : |
11th – 21st September, 1992 |
| VENUES : |
Solaria Cinema 1, Takarazuka
Cinema 2, Skala Espacio |
| EXHIBITION OF : |
27 films from 18 nations and
regions |
| ATTENDANCE: |
11,885 |
| OPENING FILM: |
The Initiation(1991/India) |
One of the objectives of the Fukuoka International Film Festival
lies in uncovering unrecognized Asian films. The 9 films featured
in the festival’s “Collection of Vietnamese Films” section in
1992 served to achieve this objective at the international level.
In Japan, all 9 films were exhibited in Tokyo as a part of the
Southeast Asian Film Festival ’92, organized by the Japan Foundation.
Films such as The Girl on the River and The Black Cactuses were
televised on NHK-BS2 (NHK’s broadcast satellite channel). Outside
Japan, these films were invited to international film festivals
such as those held in Hawaii and Hong Kong. The films were screened
in NY and Chicago as well. On each occasion, the prints were
sent from Fukuoka on loan. Because Vietnam at the time lacked
the know-how of putting subtitles on to film, the prints held
by the City of Fukuoka became the only material subtitled in
a foreign language.
Our festival also exhibited two rare documentary films. The
Heroic Pages from the History of the Haruha River Region dealt
with a phase of military disturbance which broke out in 1939,
referred to by the Japanese as the “Nomonhan Incident”, presented
from the point of view of Mongolia. The film drew the largest
crowd at the festival, with the audience being predominantly
elderly. One of the reasons for this lay in the fact that military
units stationed around the City of Fukuoka at the time were
eventually sent to the battlefield depicted in the motion picture,
thus attracting many of the elderly to the film. The other documentary
was a video production from Bangladesh entitled Face in the
Millions, which depicted political and social dilemma in a region
where democracy is yet to be realized.
Depicting Cambodia under the Pol Pot regime, White Page directed
by a Vietnamese, presented an excellent picture of the complex
political situation in Indochina. Wolf Cub Among People from
Kazakhstan made us aware that Central Asia, which is often less
familiar to the Japanese, was unmistakably a part of Asia. These
films conveyed an air of diversity of Asia.
Film director Sun Zhou, who played an active part as an actor
in The First Emperor directed by Chen Kaije, brought his latest
film, The True Hearted, which was made by the Pearl River Film
Company of Guangzhou, China. Sun Zhou’s visit was made possible
through the cooperation of the City of Guangzhou and the City
of Fukuoka, two cities bound by an accord of friendship.
From 1992, the festival was extended to 10 days. Free distribution
of the informative festival “Handbook” also started from this
year.
|
