Japan Foundation hosted the opening ceremony of the Japanese Film Festival India in New Delhi, in association with PVR Inox on 12 October. The event was graced by Koji Yoshida, the director of the Japan Information Centre within the Embassy of Japan in India, and Japan Foundation New Delhi director general Koji Sato. The event was attended by notable stalwarts, film critics, and members of the Japan Foundation and Japan Embassy. Influencers, Delhi-based cosplayers and members of the Delhi Anime Club and Delhi Film Club also attended the screening.
Following Delhi, the Japanese Film Festival was hosted in Chennai and Hyderabad from 2 to 5 November, Mumbai and Bengaluru from 7 to 10 December, and Pune from 11 to 14 January. The event was attended by notable entities, including the Consul-General of Japan in Chennai, members of popular groups like The Hyderabad Anime Club and the Pune Screen Club, famous cosplayers, film directors, and consulate staff.
The Japan Foundation is all set to start the final leg of the Japanese Film Festival in Kolkata from 18 to 21 January. The festival will be held at Inox South City.
PVR Inox co-CEO Gautam Dutta remarked, “We are extremely pleased to host the 6th edition of the Annual Japanese Film Festival yet again, now as a merger entity of PVR Inox and the largest and the most premium cinema exhibitor in India. Japan Foundation and PVR have shared a long association since 2017 and there has been no looking back ever since. We have taken inspiration from this new emerging trend of film festivals from Japan Foundation and our recent film festivals based on legends of Indian cinema have met with huge success.”
During the inaugural speech Japan Foundation New Delhi director general Koji Sato, expressed, “We are glad that the JFF, which began in 2017, is now in its sixth edition and has become an annual event for the people of India. Anime is very popular in India, but we hope that through this film festival, people will also discover the appeal of the latest Japanese feature films.”
Director of the Japan Information Centre at the Embassy of Japan in India Koji Yoshida, expressed his appreciation for the film event, stating, “We congratulate Japan Foundation on the successful opening of the sixth edition of the Japanese Film Festival in India. We are confident that the relationship between the two countries will continue to grow through the medium of film.”
The highlight of this year’s annual JFF India is the screening of the popular anime from the Detective Conan Universe and the 4K remastered edition of Lupin The 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, the first anime film directed by filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki in 1979. The sixth edition of JFF will showcase 11 films, including A Man, Anime Supremacy!, Intolerance, MONDAYS: See you “this” week!, Father of the Milky Way Railroad, Detective Conan: Episode “ONE”, Detective Conan the Movie: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital, We Made a Beautiful Bouquet, Detective Conan the Movie: The Last Wizard of the Century, and Hirokazu Kore-edas latest award-winning film, Monster.
