40th Japanese Film Festival
2022/12/13
On December 11 and 13 in 2022, the Embassy of Japan and the Canadian Film Institute (CFI), in collaboration with The Japan Foundation Toronto, presented the 40th Japanese Film Festival at the Ottawa Art Gallery. The film festival opened on December 11 with a special performance by the Quebec city-based Japanese idol group-inspired Ice Qream. The five members of the group performed three songs and gave introductions of idol culture, wotagei (a type of dancing and cheering) and Japanese used in the songs.
The performance was followed by opening remarks by Ambassador YAMANOUCHI Kanji, Mr. Tom McSorley, Executive Director at Canadian Film Institute, and Ms. Catherine Sinclair, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Ottawa Art Gallery. In his remarks, Ambassador Yamanouchi mentioned that it was the 40th anniversary of the festival and spoke about the importance of movies to better understand and discover other cultures. Following the opening speeches, a short film “Mogu and Perol” and a Japanese animated movie “Pop in Q” were screened.
On the second day of the movie festival on December 13, a short film “Komaneko, Home Alone” and a comedy film “We Make Antiques” were screened. Despite the snowy weather, about 200 people came to the festival over the two days of the film festival.
The Japanese Film Festival started in 1985. Every year, the festival gives the chance to people in the Ottawa-Gatineau region to view a variety of Japanese films. It is one of the most popular annual events for the Embassy of Japan, and it is one of the longest-running events organized by the Canadian Film Institute.
The performance was followed by opening remarks by Ambassador YAMANOUCHI Kanji, Mr. Tom McSorley, Executive Director at Canadian Film Institute, and Ms. Catherine Sinclair, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Ottawa Art Gallery. In his remarks, Ambassador Yamanouchi mentioned that it was the 40th anniversary of the festival and spoke about the importance of movies to better understand and discover other cultures. Following the opening speeches, a short film “Mogu and Perol” and a Japanese animated movie “Pop in Q” were screened.
On the second day of the movie festival on December 13, a short film “Komaneko, Home Alone” and a comedy film “We Make Antiques” were screened. Despite the snowy weather, about 200 people came to the festival over the two days of the film festival.
The Japanese Film Festival started in 1985. Every year, the festival gives the chance to people in the Ottawa-Gatineau region to view a variety of Japanese films. It is one of the most popular annual events for the Embassy of Japan, and it is one of the longest-running events organized by the Canadian Film Institute.
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| The five members of the Quebec city-based group Ice Qream performed three songs and explained the crowd how to cheer in Japanese. |
The crowd during Ice Qream’s performance |
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| Ambassador Yamanouchi delivering opening remarks |
Mr. Tom McSorley, Executive Director at Canadian Film Institute, delivering opening remarks |