Japan Foundation partners with Cinemalaya to kick off 20th anniversary

A year shy of celebrating 20 years of screening Japanese films in the Philippines through the Eiga Sai, the Japan Foundation has allied with the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival to strengthen the bond of the two countries through art.

The Japan Foundation, formed in 1996, is also celebrating the 19th year of Eiga Sai as well as 60 years of friendly relations between the Philippines and Japan.

"For the first time in the history of Cinemalaya and Eiga Sai, we have forged this partnership called the Allied Festival," Cultural Center of the Philippines Vice President and Artistic Director Chris Millado shared on July 7, the opening night of the Japanese film festival.

"The objective of the [alliance] is the belief that film is one of the most vivid ways of engaging in each other's experiences," he added. "The allied festival between Cinemalaya and Eiga Sai also believes in the continuing dialogue and conversation between filmmakers of the Philippines and Japan."

Japan Foundation Director Hiroaki Uesugi and CCP's Artistic Director Chris Millado talk about partnership: pic.twitter.com/ASRPtpOhea

— Aya Tantiangco Miura (@aya_tantiangco) July 7, 2016

The allied events start on Friday, July 8, with the special screening of director Masato Harada's "The Emperor in August" at the CCP Little Theater. Harada will conduct a talk following the screening, discussing his experience making films.

He said that the last time he was in the Philippines, Francis Ford Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now" was showing. "I was a film journalist," Harada revealed at the Eiga Sai opening night.

Prior to the screening of his film "Kakekomi", Harada gave a brief background on his influences (Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Akira Kurosawa) and invited people to attend the second screening of the film at Shangri-La Cineplex on July 9 for a deeper discussion.

Director Masato Harada talks at the Eiga Sai opening night: pic.twitter.com/34VxAf5S1k

— Aya Tantiangco Miura (@aya_tantiangco) July 7, 2016

These talks, Millado said, would not only help filmmakers, but develop the Filipino audience as well. An additional goal of the allied festival is to build up enthusiasm for other film genres.

In August, Japanese films will be shown alongside entries for the Cinemalaya Film Festival and director Hiroshi Shoji will fly from Japan for the screening of his film "Ken and Kazu."

"The Emperor in August" will be screened at the CCP Little Theater at 7:30 pm on July 8.

"Kakekomi" will be screened at the Shang Cineplex (Cinema 2) at 7 p.m. on July 9.

These screenings will be followed by a director's talk with Masata Harada.

For the full screening schedules, visit jgmo.org.ph. —KG, GMA News