Seychelles launches first Japanese film festival
Arts & Culture |Author: Rita Joubert-Lawen Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | January 9, 2023, Monday @ 17:25| 7010 views
The first film, which will air on Monday at 6.30 p.m., is entitled Al Amok. (Japanese Embassy)
Film audiences in Seychelles will be able to appreciate Japanese films in a four-day festival being held at the Deepam cinema in the capital of Victoria.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Japanese Embassy in Seychelles, the Japan Foundation, the National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA) and Deepam cinema.
The first film, which will air on Monday at 6.30 p.m., is entitled Al Amok - a Japanese science fiction thriller that takes place in a futuristic Japan which is run by an all-powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The plot of AI Amok, which will officially launch the festival, is that a system created by Kosuke Kiryu - played by 54-year-old Japanese actor Takao Osawa - began to go amok. Instead of helping people, the system is weeding out those that it determines are not fit to live anymore and killing them in mass. Kosuke Kiryu must stop his creation before the killing begins.
Speaking to the SNA, the first secretary of the Japanese Embassy, Noriko Takada, said that the festival is an activity they plan to hold annually.
"This is part of the activities being held to develop cultural relations between the two countries. It will also help Seychellois learn about Japanese cultures and art," she added.
The Japan Foundation is one that conducts programmes in the three major areas of Arts and Cultural Exchange, Japanese-Language Education Overseas, as well as Japanese Studies and International Dialogue.
This new drive to show Japanese culture in Seychelles also includes a book donation to the Guy Morel Institute to introduce people to Japanese literature.
Meanwhile, other films will be aired during the festival covering a wide range of genres from horror to family movies. It will include 'Not Quite Dead' Yet on January 10, 'Protect Dreams how to build Mazinger Z's Hangar' on January 11 and 'Step' on January 12.
"Should we receive a good response from the Seychellois viewers, we plan to hold the next film festival next year," promised Takada.
Seychelles and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1976 and the the first embassy in the island nation opened in 2019. The embassy is located on the 5th floor of the Maison Esplanade on Rue Pierre de Possession in Victoria.
Throughout the years, Japan has financially assisted Seychelles through grants.