SibFU Japanese Centre helps to hold Japanese Film Festival

The Japanese Centre of Siberian Federal University has become a partner in holding the Sixth Japanese Film Festival. The festival was held from 23 to 25 October 2020 in Krasnoyarsk in Dom Kino cinema with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Russia.

The three festival films touching upon such topical issues as family relations, friendship, trust, and self-search were screened in Krasnoyarsk for the first time. The festival program was shortened due to the difficult epidemic situation, but the SibFU Japanese Centre prepared a media gallery, that introduced the guests to various aspects of Japanese life, Dreams of Japan photo exhibition, and an exhibition of artefacts of traditional culture. Besides, before the movie screening, the Centre members held a Japanese tea ceremony demonstration and a lecture on bento (a meal in a box).

‘Russians (and the rest of the world) love Japanese cinema for the scrupulous attention to details, which is natural for the whole Japanese culture, for the symbolism, and the unhurried unfolding of a story. These features meet the needs of the modern audience: we live in a hectic time, but this allows us to look inside ourself. The festival films satisfy needs to slow down and sort out our feelings. The films remind us that even for a strong person family and friends are the support in coping with troubles,’ said Ms Irina Shurkina, director of the Japanese Centre. ‘By the end of the second day after the announcement, we were out of invitations, and the cinema auditorium was full (considering the preventive measures) for all the sessions. Japanese culture and cinema attract people in our city, which means that such festivals will be held in the future.’