Virtual Edition of the 20th Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival
June 9-14, 2020
Nippon Connection has just announced that due to the spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19, they have decided that it is necessary for the safety of visitors, guests, and volunteers to move the festival online.
The festival director, Marion Klomfass states that cancelling “the festival was not an option for us. Thus, after intense exchanges with our sponsors and cooperation partners, we have decided to hold Nippon Connection’s 20th anniversary in an online edition from June 9 – 14, 2020. We hope to make the best of a difficult situation and are looking forward to new challenges.”
The Nippon Connection team is currently hard at work on a new concept. Under the title Nippon Connection Online, a diverse selection of current Japanese short and feature length films will be presented alongside interactive offerings such as live streams and panel discussions with filmmakers.
The film programme director, Florian Höhr says that in spite of “the current crisis, giving Japanese cinema and its creators a public platform here in Germany is a great concern to Nippon Connection. Taking the festival online will continue to allow us to give our audience a varied view into the contemporary landscape of Japanese cinema.”
Florian has been in contact with me about plans for the short animation programme. With so many filmmakers suffering from the cancellation of events promoting their works we hope that this will be an opportunity for both audiences and film lovers to find hope in these dark times.
Cathy Munroe Hotes
April 2, 2020