JAPAN FOUNDATION WORLDWIDE

The 9th Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, held by Osians Cinefan in New Delhi this past July, featured a “Focus on Japan” that included a Kenji Mizoguchi retrospective as well as six Japanese films completed in the last two years. Mizoguchi’s “The Water Magician” (1933), accompanied by a benshi narrator, earned a standing ovation from a sellout crowd, signifying the extent of interest in Japanese film here.

To satisfy the expectations of local fans, the Japan Foundation, New Delhi, has organized a Japanese Film Festival on August 20 and 25. The festival offered a variety of Japanese and Japan-related films, ranging from three recent cinematic hits to Yasujiro Ozu’s classic “Tokyo Story” and the Indian film “Love in Tokyo,” set in Tokyo just before the 1964 Olympics.

The festival opened with “Doraemon and the Little Dinosaur”; Doraemon is already a popular character on Indian television. The enthusiastic audience, made up largely of students and their families from Japanese and affiliated Indian schools, collectively held their breath when Doraemon and his friends got into trouble, and clapped at their exploits. Japanese and Indian viewers laughed and cried together, proving once again that cinema transcends national boundaries.

Next came “Hula Girls,” winner of the film journal Kinema Junpo’s 2006 “Best One” award. This was the first time a previous year’s winner had appeared so soon in India, so the audience was full of film critics and dedicated fans. With a story line that appealed to Indian viewers, “Hula Girls” provided a taste of contemporary Japanese cinema at its best.

But the big draw of the festival was clearly “Always: Sunset on Third Street,” which was preceded by a personal appearance by Mrs. Akie Abe, wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who happened to be visiting India. The film won unanimous praise from the audience, proving to be an apt gift to Indian fans. The festival closed on a high note with “Tokyo Story” and “Love in Tokyo,” which drew a particularly large crowd of older cinema buffs.

We hope to offer more opportunities to the growing ranks of Japanese cinema fans in India to enjoy a full spectrum of Japanese films, old and new.

On September 29, the Japan Foundation-New York in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY) presented a staged-reading event of Japanese contemporary plays under the title “Spotlight Japan.”Three plays written by some of the most acclaimed playwrights in Japan, Masataka Matsuda’s Auto-da-Fe, Toshiki Okada’s Enjoy and Mikuni Yanaihara’s The Blue Bird were translated into English by the theater professionals of Japan and the U.S., and excerpts from these plays were read on stage by members of three of the most cutting-edge theater companies based in New York.

The Japanese playwrights were invited to New York to witness the readings as well as to attend a public discussion with the American directors.Each of the works presented had its own appeal; one of the directors tried to follow an approach that is true to the original as much as possible, while the others tried to interpret the translated texts in a creative way.During the Q&A session, one woman in the audience asked the American directors and Japanese playwrights whether they feel cultural difference is something that still needs to be filled.The response, seemingly agreed amongst the group, was that although there is a feeling that everyone on the planet is connected by the development of the internet, cultural differences will never disappear and that they, as artists, need to create something new in hopes of filling the spaces that exist among different cultures.

Compared to dance and music, theater is a genre that is difficult to introduce to overseas audiences due to language differences.However, the Japan Foundation-New York will continue to create a forum where Japanese and American theater professionals can meet and exchange ideas so that Japanese plays are introduced to American audiences.On November 19, At the Entrance of New Town, written by Akio Miyazawa, will be presented at CUNY under the direction of Jay Scheib.

The Japanese film series that begins on October 2 will present over thirty works by legendary filmmaker Mikio Naruse (1905-1969), including several that were not shown during the Naruse retrospective held in 2003. This year’s focus is on works indispensable to understanding the director as both man and artist.

The current exhibition by artist Masao Okabe, “Attingendo Memorie” continues until October 20. Whereas Mr. Okabe’s current exhibition at the Japanese Pavilion of the 52nd Venice Biennale of Art (“Is There a Future for Our Past? The Dark Face of the Light”) presents works created in Hiroshima, the Rome show features details from the cities of Hiroshima, Paris, Venice and Rome reproduced through his frottage technique.

On October 12 at 6:30 p.m., the renowned Japanese stage designer and artist Setsu Asakura will speak about his work, accompanied by a visual presentation of his creations on stage. Known for his avant-garde set designs, Mr. Asakura has won numerous prizes in the course of his forty-year career as a stage artist, painter and illustrator.

“Esplorazioni Jazz” on October 19 at 9 p.m., presents a trio consisting of Alessandro Carbonare, principal clarinetist with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, award-winning Japanese pianist (and Italy resident) Aki Kuroda, and multi-instrumentalist Piercarlo Salvia, who also composes for theater, film and television. With jazz as their theme, the three will perform original improvisations and variations based on the works of such composers as Stravinsky, Brahms, Yoshimatsu, and Piazzolla.

Meanwhile, the Japanese language program begins its new term in mid-October, offering a four-year course, a two-year evening course, and a three-month short-term introductory course.