The opening ceremony was held on Friday, November 22 at 10:30 a.m. at NTT CRED Hall. The event was hosted by freelance personality Michita KIMURA and interpreter John McLEAN.

First, the directors nominated for the International Short Film Competition appeared on the red carpet. Ming Hsia WANG, director of the Taiwanese film “Chinhua's Blossom Unfolds”, Rotha MOENG, director of the Cambodian film “The Rubber Tappers”, Ihsan ACHDIAT, director of the Indonesian film “Visiting Linda”, Ryuichi KITABATA, director of the Japanese film “Goodbye" and Roger XUE, director of the Chinese film “Go Class" took the stage. Everyone appeared with their best smiles on their faces, and the audience applauded loudly.

Next on stage from Hiroshima EYE were Director Kosuke SAKODA, starring Iroha SAKAMOTO, Kaori HARA, and Ikue TATARA from "Laying Down Looking Up", committee representative Hisako DEYAMA, Secretariat Manager Keiko AOKI from "MEIKO"/"The A-Bomb Dome and Hiroshima", and Director Hideyuki TOKIGAWA from "Love Song for Hiroshima". The applause was even louder for the Hiroshima-related film.

Then,Toshiyasu WAKASA, Vice President of the Executive Committee, replaced Kazutaka YAMAMOTO, Executive Committee Chairman and Shinichiro MURAKAMI, Director of the Citizens Bureau, representing Mayor MATSUI, who was absent this time, stated, “November is Peace Culture Month in Hiroshima City. The film festival is a part of it, and this film festival is contributing greatly to it.” Again, there was a big round of applause.

Usually, Kyoko HEYA , president, declares the opening of the event at the end, but this time she was absent due to unexpected circumstances.
Instead, Director Michihito FUJII took her place and said, “When the master is absent, it is natural for the apprentice to take over the place, but not as cheerfully as Ms. HEYA,” making the audience laugh before announcing the opening in high spirits.
The opening ceremony ended with a commemorative photo of all the participants.
Hiroshima International Film Festival 2024, will be held at two locations, NTT CRED Hall and Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-Visual Library, for three days from Friday, November 22. Please come and visit us at the venues.