At 10:30 a.m. on November 22nd, international invitees participated in a flower-offering ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Mr. Nobuhiko Obayashi, director of “Labyrinth of Cinema”, Mr. Sunao Katabuchi, director of “In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World”, and Mr. Amir Naderi, director of “Mountain”, offered the flowers on behalf of other guests, and all participants offered prayers for the victims of the atomic bombing.

Masaya Kato, an actor starring in “Dancing in her Dreams” said that he came to Hiroshima after moving his schedule up for the ceremony. Although he had very few opportunities to take part in such events, he said the ceremony reminded him of a connection with Hiroshima and his deep emotional attachment to the city. He talked about his desire for continuing to be enthusiastically involved in film production in provinces.

The Hiroshima International Film Festival 2019 begins today on November 22nd, and continues until the 24th at NTT CRED Hall as the main venue, Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-Visual Library, and Yokogawa Cinema. We look forward to seeing you all at the festival!