![\"\u91ce\u5916\u4e0a\u6620\"](\"http:\/\/ssff.sakura.ne.jp\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/bd0f2b3c44024006c4364ac4a724d913.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\ncobblestone streets, leafy courtyards, fine architectural details and sumptuous interiors, the city looks like the world of Hayao Miyazaki’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” Many Mexican celebrities participated at the red carpet events which were held almost every day.
\nThis year’s festival theme was “Japan.” Japanese film industry delegates went to Mexico and included famous Japanese directors such as Naomi Kawase, Shinya Tsukamoto and Masato Harada. Actress Kaori Momoi was also present at the festival as both a director and an actress. The other Japanese delegation included Ms. Tomoko Nishizaki of the Hiroshima Film Commission, Mr. Shozo Ichiyama of Tokyo Filmex and SSFF & ASIA Festival Director, Seigo Tono.<\/p>\n
The delegation was led by the Japanese ambassador in Mexico, Mr. Akira Yamada, The Japan Foundation\u2019s President, Mr. Hiroyasu Ando and the Mexican ambassador in Japan, Mr. Carlos Almada. They also joined the special panels along with the film industry professionals and discussed Japan and Mexico’s cultural heritage.<\/p>\n SSFF & ASIA’s Tono served as a juror for the International Fiction Short Film competition, and he also presented two Japanese short film programs to the Mexican public.<\/p>\n The programs included GIFF’s Grand Prix film of the International Short Film competition from last year titled “Oh, Lucy!”, directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi and “Lies” directed by Naomi Kawase featuring Tetsuya Bessho, the President of SSFF & ASIA, as the main character in the film. Prior to the screening, Naomi Kawase also joined Tono to greet the audience and she explained how she came to make the film. “I made this film as a deal with SSFF & ASIA President Tetsuya Bessho, who is also a famous actor. The deal was that in exchange of me becoming a juror at his festival, he\u2019d be in my short film as a main character,” Kawase said.<\/p>\n The audience seemed to have enjoyed the Japanese shorts programs. It was especially evident during the comedy films “Shabu-Shabu Spirit,” “Let’s Go Home (Ibaraki Short Film Award)” and “Death, the Loser,” where a great amount of laughter was heard throughout. After the screening, many people approached Tono to comment on how much they enjoyed the films and to express their desires to visit Japan in the future.<\/p>\n The Grand Prix short film went to “Law of the Lamb,” directed by Lotfi Achour of Tunisia, who happens to have won Grand Prix at SSFF & ASIA 2015 with his short “Father.” The Grand Prix for the International Feature Film went to “Happy Hour,” directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Since director Hamaguchi had gone back to Japan earlier, the Festival Director of Tokyo Filmex, Mr. Shozo Ichiyama, accepted the prize on his behalf.<\/p>\n Yoshiki, the leader of “X Japan” was also present at GIFF for the Mexican premiere of the documentary film “We are X,” directed by Stephen Kijack. On the occasion of his visit at GIFF, Yoshiki gave a free concert at a town square, in front of hundreds of fans of “X Japan” who came from all over Mexico.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nIndeed, GIFF was completely immersed in \u201cJapan\u201d throughout the whole week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2688,"parent":0,"template":"","e_news_cat":[550],"class_list":["post-8451","news_en","type-news_en","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","e_news_cat-creators"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t