On November 23rd (Thu.), the opening ceremony of Hiroshima International Film Festival (HIFF) 2023 was held at NTT CRED Hall No.1. The HIFF President, HEYA, Kyoko declared the opening of the festival in the ceremony.

HIFF 2023 aims to be a unique film festival for Hiroshima, which has achieved recovery from the atomic bombing, with the concept of "a film festival gathering films with positive impact from around the world." It marks the 15th anniversary of the festival this year.

On the first day, we welcomed the film-star YOKOHAMA, Ryusei, and short film competitions and food courts, which had been suspended and as part of COVID-19 measures, were revived. The festival is packed with diverse programs, including "Special screenings"; introducing movies from domestic and international filmmakers, "Talk Shows" with directors, "Hiroshima EYE" portraying Hiroshima from various perspectives, and "Teach-ins"; special lectures by directors.

Mr. YAMAMOTO Kazutaka, the executive committee chairman of HIFF, expressed enthusiasm saying, "In recent years, Japanese films seem to be gaining more attention worldwide. In that sense, I would like to make the Hiroshima International Film Festival even more magnificent in the future."

The Mayor of Hiroshima City, MATSUI, Kazuhiro also attended the event. Amid increasing global attention to Hiroshima after the G7 summit this year, he said, "I am very pleased that the preciousness of peace and the joy of conducting cultural artistic activities will be conveyed to the world through this film festival."

The HIFF President, expressed her gratitude to the visitors and the guests. She welcomed regular guests; director FUJII, Michihito and director KATABUCHI, Sunao as well as first-time guests including actors, producers, and directors. The festival, which began 15 years ago with a floral tribute to the Memorial Monument for Hiroshima City of Peace, expanded this year to include a flower-offering to Korean victims of the atomic bombing. Additionally, the festival welcomed UMEZAWA, Fumiko, the daughter of director KURAHARA, Koreyoshi, who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima as a special attack corps and became the first Japanese director to shoot the film, “The Heart of Hiroshima,” inside the A-bomb dome. HIFF President HEYA emphasized that the HIFF is a film festival that “puts the thoughts of everyone around the world together to be with Hiroshima guiding their thoughts to embrace Hiroshima's past, present, and future" and declared the opening of the festival with a loud proclamation, "Let's enjoy the four days of the film festival."

The Hiroshima International Film Festival 2023 will be held from November 23rd (Thu.) to 26th (Sun.) for four days at NTT CRED Hall, Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-Visual Library, and Yokogawa Cinema."