Festival of Japanese Films in St. Petersburg

A festival of modern Japanese films opens in St. Petersburg's House of Cinema on Thursday, January 30. The event was organized by the Japanese Consulate General to the Northern Capital (as St. Petersburg is often referred to), the Center of International Cooperation, and the Russia-Japan Friendship Society.

According to a source in the Japanese Consulate General, Russia has been hosting festivals of Japanese films for more than 40 years now. For St. Petersburg, it is the 36th Japanese film festival.

The program of the festival envisages the screening of four films created in 2000 and widely acclaimed in the Country of the Rising Sun. The festival opens with "15-year-old," a melodrama by the film producer Yoji Yamada. Further on, St. Petersburg's cinema-goers will have a chance to watch "Idlers" /a fantastic blockbuster/, "Actor" /a historical psychological tragicomedy/ and "First Love" /a romantic melodrama/.

Cinemagoers from Moscow have already watched these films. After St. Petersburg, the festival will move on to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, two large cities in the Far East.

The St. Petersburg festival runs until February 2.