Japanese film festival in Chennai

CHENNAI: Gravity-defying stunts, poignant drama, heart-warming romance and nail-biting thrills… a sample of all these comes with a Japanese flavour at the five-day Japanese Film Festival that began here on Tuesday. The festival is a retrospective of the celebrated Japanese director Kon Ichikawa, who has made numerous award-winning films based on novels. The opening film of the festival ‘Harp of Burma' is a classic example of the director's expertise in filmmaking, said speakers at the inauguration of the film festival. Consul-General of Japan Kazuo Minagawa, who inaugurated the festival, said Ichikawa's films gave a new definition to Japanese cinema by introducing it to the international audience. He is considered on a par with stalwarts such as Akira Kurosawa and Keisuke Kinoshita, for his inimitable style of filmmaking. “He introduced animation to Japanese film industry at a time when the concept of animation was hardly known to the world. He is a master of innovations,” Mr. Minagawa said. This is the third Japanese film festival to be held this year in the city. A 15-minute short film on Japan would be screened before every film to offer a glimpse of today's Japan, he added.