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| Ambassador's Speech>2012 >151012 | |||||
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| at the Opening of the Japanese Film Festival 2012 at the Alliance Ethio-Française on 15 October, 2012 |
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| Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Movie fans, Ladies and Gentlemen, Endemen ameshachehu. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to our very own Japanese Film Festival 2012. This is the third event of the Japanese Cultural Series in Ethiopia for the JFY2012, which started with a Kendo Demonstration in May, followed by a Karate Demonstration in August. For martial arts fans, you will not be disappointed as we are going to show a film about a remarkable female sword master tonight. I am very excited, as this is the first time in Ethiopia that we have organized a two-week long film festival in two cities, Addis Ababa and Mekelle. We are honored to open our festival in this beautiful garden of the Alliance Ethio-Francaise. I would like to thank Mr. Olivier Dintinger, Director of the Alliance Ethio-Française for offering us this venue, which has such a charming ambiance. I would also like to express appreciation to the Japan Foundation in Tokyo for sponsoring this event. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, For this festival, we have selected six different films, which show different aspects of modern and traditional Japanese society and culture. This year we particularly chose films that introduce the scenic Tohoku region, which is now steadily recovering from the 3.11 Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. We hope that these films will show the beauty of Japan and the strong determination and resilience of the people. The festival will continue in Addis Ababa throughout this week at three locations, namely the Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Addis Ababa University, and the Italian Cultural Institute. Please join us for as many films as you like! Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Tonight, we will open the festival with ‘After the Flowers.’ This is a period drama set in Japan during the Edo period. The story follows a talented young female sword master, and her way of living the Samurai spirit. It is a moving tale about love and determination. This film is based on a famous short story written by the well-known Japanese novelist, Shuji Fujisawa. Many of his works have been made into films, and ‘The Twilight Samurai,’ one of his most celebrated films, will be screened at the Italian Cultural Institute this Friday. The opening scene of tonight’s movie is set against the backdrop of cherry blossoms, flowers epitomizing Japan in spring. They come into bloom magically, all at once, but are all gone in a week. Therefore, cherry blossoms are often used in Japan as a metaphor for life. With this in mind, let the story begin, with the lovely cherry blossoms and then the bittersweet tale of a beautiful female sword master, ‘after the flowers’. Amesegenaleh!
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