Japanese film fest organised in Karachi by Japanese culture centre

KARACHI: The Japan Information and Culture Centre (JICC) on Thursday inaugurated the three-day Japanese Film Festival with the screening of documentary film ‘The Phone of the Wind: Whispers to Lost Families’ being the highlight of the event.

Based on Great East Japan Earthquake 2011, the documentary film orbits around a phone booth known as the ‘Telephone of the Wind’ on a hill overlooking the ocean in Otsuchi Town in northeastern Japan. The famous phone is not connected to anywhere, but people come from afar to "call" family members lost during the tsunami of the 2011. Many visit the phone booth including a mother and 3 children who have lost their father. ‘The Phone of the Wind’ looks at the unique role that the phone played in helping many grieve.

At the inauguration ceremony of the Japanese Film Festival, Consul-General of Japan, Mr. Toshikazu Isomura said that films are the most effective way to learn about a country’s culture, tradition and lifestyle. He reiterated that the Consulate-General of Japan in Karachi would conduct various activities to promote Japanese culture and further strengthen friendly ties between Japan and Pakistan.

The film fest is going to be held from September 27 to 29, at Karachi’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Greenwich University. Three Japanese films entitled ‘The Phone of the Wind: Whispers to Lost Families’, ‘A Tale of Samurai Cooking’, and ‘Spirited Away’ are to be showcased.