Lecture & Japanese Film Festival at Artistic Creativity Centre (24th /10)
On the occasion of the 65th memorial of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, The Japan Foundation has the pleasure to present 2 special lectures, along with a Japanese Film Festival “Hiroshima” in Cairo and Alex.
Free Admission
Note: Due to the subject of this Film Festival, some of the films are not suitable for young children.
In cooperation with the Artistic Creativity Centre, Opera House Ground in Zamalek, The Japan Foundation is honored to present for the first time in public lecture, Dr. Muhammad El-Makhzangi, the lecture would be on Sunday 24th October 2010 – Cinema Hall – at 6pm., moderated by Mr. Masato FURUYA, the director of the japan foundation cairo office. The guest lecturer – Dr. Makhzangi – had witnessed the Chernobel’s nuclear plant fire, back in 1986 during his study in Ukraine (former Soviet Union), since that time he has become one of the anti-nuclear energy activists.
The film “HIROSHIMA: a Mother’s Prayer” will be screened at 6pm., followed by the lecture of Dr. Makhzangi, then the first feature film of the festival will be screened: “Yunagi City, Sakura Country”.
Dr. Muhammad El-Makhzangi:
Dr. Muhammad El-Makhzangi is an Egyptian writer, novelist, and psychiatrist. He is considered one of the most prominent fiction/novel writers in the Arab world. He is also a distinguished columnist in Shorouq Newspaper; writes every Thursday under the title “Sidelighting”. He writes often on scientific issues, and wrote a book on supplementary medicine entitled “Healing without Medicine”. His contributions to the genre of travel literature through Al-Arabi Magazine are considered extremely valuable. Dr. Makhzangi has worked as a psychiatrist & neurological doctor in Egypt, after his graduation from the Faculty of Medicine in Mansoura and then in the Ukraine. Later, he launched his career in the field of literary journalism working as an editor and then as the editorial advisor for the Kuwaiti magazine “Al-Arabi”. He received the Sawiris Award for the Senior Writers of Short Stories. The American researcher Andre Forona composed his Ph.D., Indiana University, on the creativity of Dr. Makhzangi in storytelling.
Dr. Makhzangi was born in Mansoura and now resides in Cairo. He is an ardent environmentalist and wildlife advocate.
Schedule of Events:
- Lecture by Masaaki TANABE
|
21 October |
Sawy Culture Wheel – at 6pm. |
- Lecture by Dr. Muhammad El-Makhzangi
|
24 October |
Artistic Creativity Center – Cairo Opera Ground – 6pm. |
- Japanese Film Festival(Cairo)
|
24-27 October |
Artistic Creativity Center (look at the timetable) |
- Japanese Film Festival(Alex)
|
22-23 November |
Alexandria Center of Arts (look at the timetable) |
Message from The Japan Foundation:
This year is the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. As most of the world is now aiming for global denuclearization, we feel the time is right to hold this Film Festival, so as to share the experience of the A-bomb and convey it from one generation to the next, as the only country to have been attacked by nuclear weapons. We hope this will be an opportunity for everyone to learn about Japan’s experience with the atomic bomb from many different perspectives, and to consider the importance of abolishing nuclear weapons once and for all.
Japanese Film Festival
Artistic Creativity Centre – Cairo Opera House Ground
24 – 27 , October, 2010
October 24 (Sun.)
6:00 pm: Documentary Film Screening “Hiroshima: A Mother’s Prayer”
followed by a lecture by the eminent writer and novelist Dr. Muhammad El-Makhzangi
7:30 pm: Yunagi City, Sakura Country (Subtitles: Arabic and English, Age Limit: 16 years or older)
October 25 (Mon.)
4:00 pm: Black Rain (Subtitles: Arabic and English, Age Limit: 16 years or older)
6:30 pm: Face of Jizo (Subtitles: Arabic Only)
October 26 (Tue.)
4:00 pm: Children of the Atomic Bomb (Subtitles: Arabic and English)
6:30 pm: Black Rain (Subtitles: Arabic and English, Age Limit: 16 years or older)
October 27 (Wed.)
4:00 pm: Yunagi City, Sakura Country (Subtitles: Arabic and English, Age Limit: 16 years or older)
For Entry: Free seat tickets to be obtained on the day of the screening from the Ticket Office of the Center
Hiroshima: A Mother’s Prayer
A documentary film featuring footage captured immediately after the blast, it calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons and world peace from the viewpoint of a mother in Hiroshima.
Alexandria Center of Arts: November 22, 23
November 22 (Mon.)
4:00 pm: Face of Jizo (Subtitles: Arabic Only)
6:30 pm: Yunagi City, Sakura Country (Subtitles: Arabic and English, Age Limit: 16 years or older)
November 23 (Tue.)
4:00 pm: Barefoot Gen (Animation Film, Subtitles: Arabic Only)
6:30 pm: Women in the Mirror (Subtitles: Arabic and English)
Synopsis Of Films
Yunagi City, Sakura Country (2007/ 118 min.)
Director: Kiyoshi SASABE
Cast: Rena TANAKA, Kumiko ASO
Age Limit: 16 years or older
This film is a drama based on the comic by Fumiyo Kono, who received the Grand Prize in the Manga Division from the Japan Media Arts Festival 2004 held by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. The original work received high critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad, and it has been translated in America, Canada and Australia among other countries. Through the stories of two women, one in the past, the other in the present time, the film highlights the tragedy of the atomic bomb throughout the generations.
The events of “Yunagi City” take place in Hiroshima 13 years after the explosion of the atomic bomb. Minami Hirano experiences fleeting moments of joy after her co-worker Uchikoshi confesses his love to her. However, this joy is short-lived, as she soon comes down with atomic bomb sickness while dealing at the same time with the emotional wounds caused by the bomb explosion.
As for the events of “Sakura Country”, they take place in present day Tokyo. As Nanami follows her father on his secret trip to Hiroshima, she finds out about her family’s history and her aunt Minami’s personal history after being bombed in Hiroshima. Nanami slowly begins to appreciate the significance of her own roots and the value of the peace in which she lives.
Black Rain (1989 / 123 min.)
Director: Shohei IMAMURA
Cast: Yoshiko TANAKA, Kazuo KITAMURA
Age limit: 16 years or older
Several years after the A-bomb explosion, Yasuko is a young woman living with her uncle and aunt and they are trying to find her a suitable suitor. However, that is difficult since most of the families in the village seem to be worried about Yasuko succumbing to radiation sickness since she was caught in the radioactive black rain which fell after the blast.
Many people in the village are hibakusha or atomic bomb survivors, and they suffer from the physical and psychological effects of the atom bomb. The film vividly portrays these effects and sufferings of the survivors which they are still experiencing to this day.
Based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Masuji IBUSE, the film won the Jury Prize in the 42nd Cannes International Film Festival in 1989.
The Face of Jizo (2004 / 99 min.)
Director: Kazuo KUROKI
Cast: Rie MIYAZAWA, Yoshio HARADA, Tadanobu ASANO
This film is based on the novel of the same name by Hisasih INOUE. The film deals with the psychological trauma of the A-bomb explosion. The events take place three years after the destruction of Hiroshima and they revolve around Mitsue, a young woman and survivor of the atomic bomb. She is tormented by the guilt and anguish of having lived when so many others, including her family, did not. But the ghost of her dead father encourages her to face life and give in to love and happiness.
Children of the Atom Bomb (1952 / 100 min.)
Director: Kaneto SHINDO
Cast: Nobuko OTOWA
Filmed in 1952, only 7 years after the Hiroshima disaster, this is the first Japanese film to be made about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. It is based on a collection of the testaments of the children who actually survived the explosion.
The events of the film revolve around a survivor of the explosion, Takako, who returns to the city 7 years after the explosion to visit her old pupils from the kindergarten she used to work in. Her eyes are opened to the full horror and consequences of the bombing as she hears their stories and witnesses herself how the survivors’ lives were affected by that fateful day. This film was awarded the Peace Prize in the 8th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1954.
Women in the Mirror (2002 / 129 min.)
Director: Yoshishige YOSHIDA
Cast: Mariko OKADA, Yoshiko TANAKA, Sae ISSHIKI
“Women in the Mirror” is the story of three generations of women: a grandmother, Ai; her daughter Miwa / Masako; and Miwa’s daughter Natsuki. Not long after giving birth to Natsuki, Miwa disappeared. 24 years later, Ai learns that a woman calling herself Masako, but in possession of some of Miwa’s belongings, has been found. The family is reunited, but Masako, suffering from amnesia, only recognizes one name: Hiroshima, which she keeps repeating over and over. Could she really be Ai’s daughter? In order to unlock the secrets of the past, the three women travel to Hiroshima to investigate the events of the Hiroshima disaster and reconstruct the years that they have lost and begin rebuilding their lives. |
