 
|
| HELD : |
10th – 19th September, 1999 |
| VENUES : |
Solaria Cinema 1, Elgala Hall,
Tsukushi Kaikan, AIREF |
| EXHIBITION OF : |
27 films from 12 nations and
regions |
| ATTENDANCE: |
Focus on Asia ’99 – FIFF 14,916
Sponsored Events 1,274
TOTAL 16,190 |
| OPENING FILM: |
Color of Paradise(1999/Iran) |
Color of Paradise directed by Majid Majidi was awarded the Grand
Prix at the Montreal International Film Festival, held just
prior to the Fukuoka International Film Festival. The film,
which opened our festival in 1999, attracted worldwide attention
to its director who received wide news coverage. After Montreal,
Majid Majidi came all the way to Fukuoka via Tehran, Dubai and
Hong Kong. Audience emotion reached a climax when Majidi made
a dramatic appearance just as the opening screening was about
to start. This most talked about film would later see a general
release in Japan.
Other films which drew public attention even prior to their
exhibition included an entry by film director Sivan and his
son Santosh Sivan from India, the first 35mm film by Iranian
director Abolfazl Jalili, a trilogy made by three young film
directors from Taiwan, and a joint film production between China
and Japan, a section of the film being shot in the island of
Kyushu. From Mongolia came The Teacher of Cyrill Alphabet, a
peaceful and enjoyable story highly rated by both the media
and the audience. Seeing this video production gave us an opportunity
to reaffirm the purpose of our film festival, that being to
discover excellent films from Asia.
The festival in 1999 saw five films directed by female film
directors. Among them, Collective Flat(Vietnam) and Jose Rizal(the
Philippines) were invited to KANEBO International Women’s Film
Week, one of the sponsored events of the Tokyo International
Film Festival, after their exhibition in Fukuoka.
Additionally, related events were held such as an exhibition
of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s early pictures in commemoration of the
film director being awarded the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize,
and a symposium on the Japanese language publication of “Manchow
Film Studio – Aspects of Propaganda Film” by Fukuoka Chugoku
Eiga Kai (the Chinese Cinema Association in Fukuoka).
We were delighted to hear the good news of Vietnamese film director
Dang Nhat Minh, receiving the Nikkei Asia Prize sponsored by
the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Our festival has so far exhibited
four of Dang Nhat Minh’s films.
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