Wednesday, March 20, 2024 saw the opening of the French Film Festival in Yokohama, organized by Unifrance, in the presence of a large artistic and professional delegation, supporters and friends of the festival, including the city's mayor, the President of Nissan, and the French Ambassador to Japan, Philippe Setton.
The opening film, Along Came Love by Katell Quillévéré, was presented by this year's patron, the multi-awarded actor Yakusho Kôji (Perfect Days), along with the film's lead actor Vincent Lacoste and its producer Justin Taurand.
Currently in Japan for the festival:
Claire Denis, Olivier Delbosc (producer), Vanessa Filho, Kim Higelin, Pierre Földes, Élise Girard, Ladj Ly, Christophe Barral & Toufik Ayadi (producers), Marie Amachoukeli, Justin Taurand (producteur), Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Bénédicte Couvreur (producer), Martin Provost, Sébastien Vaniček, Cyril Dion, Vincent Macaigne, and Vincent Lacoste.
Gilles Pélisson, President of Unifrance, present for the first time in Yokohama, said: "The red carpet in the heart of Yokohama, festival posters in strategic places, everything is done to honor our French cinema in all its diversity. Japan is an important country for our films, as shown again recently by the theatrical success of the recently released Anatomy of a Fall, which has already exceeded 100,000 admissions."
The festival runs until March 24 in various movie theaters in Yokohama. Japanese moviegoers will be able to vote for their favorite film at the end of each screening, to determine the 2024 Festival Audience Award
The festival was preceded by a film market in Tokyo. Over two days, 25 exporters representing 21 French companies met with Japanese distributors in a non-stop series of meetings. Japan is the Asian territory with the most buyers of French films. It is also the most stable, and the one with the longest-lasting relationship with French films in the region. After the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, French cinema is regaining its foothold in Japan.
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