Two Asian International Film Festivals Enhance Exchange & Cooperation

Two Top Asian Film Festivals Launch China-Japan Film Showcase in Six Cities

This morning (October 26th), the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) held the Sino-Japan Film Exchange Press Conference in Japan. This is the first time for SIFF to host a press conference jointly with the organizers of foreign film festivals. The representatives from both sides declared at the conference that, the Japanese New Production Exhibition will take place on 1-3 December of this year in Shanghai, Kunming and Shenzhen. The event is to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the normalization of relations between China and Japan, as one part of the Sino-Japanese New Production Exhibition co-organized by SIFF, TIFF and the Japan Foundation, while the Chinese New Production Exhibition is scheduled to take place in March next year in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

As two major competitive non-specialized international film festivals accredited by FIAPF, SIFF and TIFF are playing an irreplaceable role in the development of Asian cinema. Since 2015 when the two sides established the World Express cooperation mechanism, they have built up a bridge for film culture exchange between China and Japan through recommendation for competition, filmmaker participation, film promotion and other approaches. Year 2017 welcomes the 45th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries, so the organizer of SIFF Shanghai International Film & TV Festivals Co., Ltd., upon the deliberation with the organizer of TIFF UNIJAPAN and the Japan Foundation, proposes to carry out more film screening activities in more cities of the two nations apart from the time when the two film festivals are taking place, in order to facilitate the film culture exchange and collaboration between the two countries. This is the first trial of  Shanghai International Film & TV Festivals Co., Ltd. to extend exhibitions beyond the film festival itself, as well as its another active attempt to promote the culture Going Global following the World Express program.

Xue Jian, Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Japan attended the conference and delivered a speech, where he pointed out that China and Japan, as neighbors, share common culture, and the Sino-Japanese New Production Exhibition is the outcome of the cultural exchange between the two countries. This year is the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations, and next year will be the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, so the film & TV co-production and communication between the filmmakers of the two nations will boost more realistic significance than ever before, and injects more vitality into the improvement and development of the bilateral relationship. He added that, the Chinese Embassy (in Japan) will provide vigorous support to pave the way for the exchange and cooperation of more film & TV productions. Yasutoshi Nishimura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan and Koichi Hagiuda, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan introduced the preparation progress of the outline of Sino-Japanese Film Co-production Treaty that has been agreed upon in September, and spoke highly of the “New Production Exhibition as a major achievement of the China-Japan exchange and collaboration”.

Kane Yu, General Manager Assistant of SIFF disclosed at the press conference: for the Japanese New Production Exhibition scheduled to take place simultaneously in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Kunming during December 1-3 this year, the screening list features Naomi Kawase’s Radiance, Masahiro Kobayashi’s Lear On The Shore, Daihachi Yoshida’s A Beautiful Star, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Mukoku, Masanori Tominaga’s Pumpkin And Mayonnaise,Koji Shiraishi’s Impossibility Defense,Naoto Kumazawa’s The Anthem Of The Heart and Yurigokoro, Koichiro Miki’s Anonymous Noise and Naoko Ogigami’s Close-Knit, among which some are world premiere and some are to be shown shortly after their Japanese release. The screening venues are: Grand Theater and UME International Cineplex in Shanghai, Broadway Cinemas of OPENALLEY in Kunming, Broadway Cinemas of COCOPARK and Broadway Cinematheque in Shenzhen. Hiroyasu Ando, President of the Japan Foundation also announced at the conference that the Chinese New Production Exhibition will be held during 8-14 March, 2018 in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, where Chinese new film works will be screened, several of which are produced by the film production companies in Shanghai.

On the scene, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Chairman of Kadokawa Dwango Corp. introduced the shooting progress of the China-Japanese co-production Legend Of The Demon Cat. Celebrated Japanese Actress Keiko Matsuzaka and the author of the original novel, Baku Yumemakura were present to give speeches and extend their wishes to the success of the film. Written by Wang Huiling and directed by Chen Kaige, the co-production is based on the fantasy novel Shamon Kukai by Baku Yumemakura, and stars a glaring cast including Chinese and Japanese film celebrities Huang Xuan, Shôta Sometani, Zhang Yuqi, Hiroshi Abe, Liu Haoran, Zhang Tianai, Xin Baiqing and Keiko Matsuzaka. The film started shooting in Xiangyang, Hubei Province in last August and finished at the end of last year. Its international premiere will be presented in Beijing on December 22, 2017 and go public release in Japan in the title of Kûkai on February 14, 2018. The co-productions Wolf Warrior 2and Manhuntare also scheduled to open at the same time. At the conference, the trailers of the three movies were showcased.