08 Oct 2023

The Japanese Film Festival is not only for entertainment purposes but to significantly advance efforts to foster tolerance, dispel misconceptions, and strengthen inter-connectedness across the globe.

Through the festival, Japan which has always had positive relations with Botswana in a number of areas, fosters ongoing ties and promotes mutual respect and understanding between the two nations.

Speaking during the commencement of the 13^th Japanese Film Festival in Gaborone on Thursday, Japan’s  Ambassador to Botswana, Ohmori Setsuo said the festival was one way to foster cultural exchange between Batswana and Japanese in an amusing way.  

“In addition to movies, we also had a range of our traditional dishes for people to appreciate and taste,” he said, adding ‘this film festival aims to bring Japan closer to people, tempt them, and we want them to learn about us in a calm and artistic manner.

Films shown included Destiny: The narrative of Kamakura, Brave father Online-Our story of Final Fantasy XIV, Round trip heart, and Okko's Inn.

The Brave father online- Our story of Final Fantasy XIV is a comedy about the father, Akira who had to leave his job due to some medical ailment but never gave any explanation to his family. 

He grew distant from them and barely communicated with them, especially with his son Akio.

Instead of giving up on his father, Akio devised a plan to win back his father’s attention.

He gave him the Final Fantasy XIV online gaming programme, taught him how to play it, and discreetly communicated with him using an anonymous online avatar.

The strategy was successful, and eventually, he added his sister as another online avatar. They formed a team and were challenged by a different group to a battle online. 

Akira was unaware that his crew was actually his family, yet they prepared for the battle in great detail as avatars and prevailed.

At the end of the battle Akira announced that he won’t be able to continue to be part of his team because he wasn't feeling well, only to discover that his teammates were his family. Following his declaration, this family reappeared, they discovered that Akira had been hiding his illness from them because he felt uncomfortable discussing it with them.

He gradually worked up the nerve to get the surgery he had been putting off for so long, and finally happiness returned to Akira's home when they told him that they would give him all the assistance he needed. 

The three-day film festival ended on Saturday. Ends