Seychelles to Host Second Japanese Film Festival in Early February
VICTORIA, Seychelles — The second edition of the Japanese Film Festival will take place in Seychelles from January 31 to February 2, 2024, the Japanese embassy has announced, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, and Deepam Cinema. The festival is open to the public at Deepam Cinema in Victoria starting at 6pm on the opening day, with the screenings free of charge for everyone in attendance. It is the latest in a series of cultural events hosted in Seychelles over the early weeks of 2024.
February 1, the second day of the festival, is reserved for primary and secondary students, offering them a unique opportunity to engage with the Japanese culture through the cinematic world. The student screenings will run from 10am onwards, with invitations sent to several schools, namely Mont Fleuri primary and secondary, Perseverance primary and secondary, and a number of other institutions. This is the highlight for this year, said Cecile Kalebi, permanent secretary of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts.
Yesterday, the second secretary of the Japanese embassy in Seychelles, Tomotaka Ishizu, and Mrs Kalebi jointly briefed media on the programme. Mr Ishizu said the films on this year’s list were carefully selected to introduce Seychellois audiences to a range of Japanese storytelling styles, including animation and live action. He highlighted one animated feature in particular, the production of ‘Our Sound’, which is pretty amazing because more than 4000 illustrations were created by hand drawings instead of computer generated images, took seven years to complete and won an award at the Anime Film Festival held in Canada.
Mrs Kalebi said what is different from last year’s list of movies is the storyline and how the public will be able to relate to it more. She added that audiences will be able to firmly like to pursue with the Japanese embassy, and that it is good to note that Japan and Seychelles will commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relationship in 2026. The festival is therefore also positioned as a stepping stone towards that milestone, with cultural exchanges in the years ahead.
Mr Ishizu also said he encourages the public to take this opportunity to come see the films, and added that the embassy is truly grateful for the support of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts as well as Deepam Cinema in putting on the festival. The collaboration, he said, will help to further promote the Japanese culture among Seychellois audiences and to deepen the people-to-people ties between the two countries as the diplomatic relationship moves into its fifth decade.
