Japanese Film Festival JFF 2019 to take off with anime WEATHERING WITH YOU
The Opening Film for the Festival’s Delhi-Gurugram stage is the highly anticipated animation 'Weathering with You'. The film is due to release in Indian cinemas on October 11 across India.
NEW DELHI: The select PVR cineplexes across seven cities of India will screen critically acclaimed and globally popular Japanese films with English subtitles from September 27.
The initiative is the part of the six-month-longJapanese Film Festival (JFF) in India screening 25 popular Japanese films following increasing demand from the Indian audience.
The Opening Film for the Festival’s Delhi-Gurugram stage will be the highly anticipated animation from critically acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You. The film which is due to release in Indian cinemas on October 11, will have its gala India Premiere at the Japanese Film Festival 2019-20.
Recently, Japan Foundation, New Delhi announced the launch of the JFF 2019-20 in India, in partnership with PVR Cinemas, at PVR HOME, the members-only social and live entertainment club by PVR Ltd. The company currently operates 800 screens at 170 properties in 69 cities across India.
The event witnessed the unveiling of the Festival’s movie line-up; featuring a list of Japanese films to be screen during the festival by Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Japan Embassy, India and Kaoru Miyamoto, Director-General, The Japan Foundation, New Delhi.
The event also witnessed a special musical performances by the Japanese artists, Kazufumi Miyazawa a renowned singer, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko – a Taiko Performance artist and their troupe who are currently leading a performance titled “Okinava Ki Hawa 2019″ in India.
The film festival will be launched at PVR Select CITYWALK, Saket on September 27 and showcase films from various genres like romance, drama, comedy and more from contemporary Japanese cinema, including feature, award-winning and anime films.
At the inaugural Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Japan Embassy said, “I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Japan Foundation and all the people, both in India and Japan, who made the holding of this excellent event possible this year. From the films which the Japan Foundation has brought to you this year, you will discover what Japanese people laugh at, what they are moved by, and what they like, etc. I hope that, through these interesting stories, you will feel closer to Japan and the Japanese people. I am sure this film festival will help further consolidate the friendship between the people of our two countries.”
Kaoru Miyamoto, Director-General, Japan Foundation New Delhi, marking the launch of the Festival said, “The success of the last two editions of the Festival and the overwhelming response of Indian audience towards embracing Japanese culture have prompted us to expand our target cities. Therefore, we have closely focused on audience demand in selecting the films and have aimed at offering a wide range of quality content.”
Kaoru Miyamoto announced that the director of the film Weathering with You Makoto Shinkai will be attending the Opening Night. The Festival will host several popular titles like Dance with Me, Lu over the Wall, Shoplifters, Your Name, Perfect World, Bento Harassment, Children of the sea, Kingdom, My Dad is a Heel Wrestler! Tokyo Ghoul, The Fable etc.
Miyamoto further added, “Looking at the growing appetite for Japanese content in India, we aim to strengthen content collaboration between Indian and Japanese film industries through this platform. We are grateful to our partners, PVR Cinemas and through this partnership, we aim to engage with a wider set of audience and enable cinema lovers to come together and witness internationally acclaimed content.”
In a statement, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, JMD, PVR Ltd. said, “We are very excited to collaborate with the Japanese Foundation for the third consecutive year for the film festival. The positivity from cinema lovers and response from the past two editions cemented our decision to go grander this year. We will screen a range of exclusive Japanese films during this festival across cities. PVR Cinemas have always endeavored in introducing unique experiences through quality content and enhanced experience at the theatres. International film festivals in addition to offering movie aficionados enjoy quality content enables cultural exchange and strengthens international relationships.”
