His Excellency, Mr. Motohiko Kato, Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam (3rd from left) and Mr. Masafumi, Senior Project Manager, Film and Broadcast Media of Japan Foundation (2nd from left) and Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Putera Maharaja Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghani binPehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahim, a Legislative council member (4th from left) during the official launch of the Japanese Film Festival 2018

His Excellency, Mr. Motohiko Kato, Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam giving his welcoming remarks to the audience

The Japanese Film Festival 2018 kicked off in Brunei Darussalam last night at The Arena Cineplex, Kiulap. Attending the opening ceremony were His Excellency, Mr. Motohiko Kato, Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam and Mr. Masafumi, Senior Project Manager, Film and Broadcast Media of Japan Foundation, other members of the Diplomatic Missions in Brunei, media influencers, clubs and associations related to Japan.

The Japanese Film Festival is organised by the Japan Foundation and Embassy of Japan to Brunei Darussalam. This is a platform used to raise interest in Japanese films among audiences in the ASEAN region. It aims to provide opportunities for people to gather offline and online, under the vision of building a system for an extensive bridge between the Asia-Pacific film market and the Japanese film industry as mentioned by Mr. Masafumi.

There will be seven films being screened daily until the 28th of February 2018. The genres include drama, animation, manga adaptation and mystery. Do refer to the posters for details and you can google them for more in-depth review.

The cool thing about Japanese Film Festival 2018 is that the ticket admission is FREE and the way to claim your ticket is to collect your tickets from 5pm onwards at Arena Cineplex at Seri Q-Lap Mall. Each of the screening begins at 7:30pm.

For more information, you can contact them at 863 6488 or visit their Facebook Page or instagram @jffbrunei

What Rano thinks: I’m so pleased that there’s finally a Japanese Film Festival, showcasing more than 5 Japanese films. I’m a movie junkie and furthermore, I love Japanese movie for some reason. There are a few titles that I love rematching such as Zatoichi, Your Name (animation) and Battle Royale to name a few.

Good job to the Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan to Brunei Darussalam of making this possible because I normally see this kind of events in Singapore when I traveled. So this is a good start in creating more interest in Japanese films. I’m hoping to catch another one tonight if I can get hold of the tickets 🙂

His Excellency speaking to the management of Times Square Shopping Centre

Hello Ms. Junko Kurihara 😀

We caught the first film, Chihayafuru Part I

A’aqiil of Filterworks Production was also present

The screen times for the selected movies at Arena Cineplex

Times Square Shopping Centre ended its Japanese Language and Culture Week yesterday on Sunday, 19th February 2017. The event took place on 17th February, Friday until 19th February, Sunday at 10:00am till 10:00pm. The event was organized by Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam, Times Square Shopping Centre and Japan Foundation. The supporters comprised of Japan Brunei Friendship Association (JBFA), The Japanese Association Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Association of Japan Alumni (BAJA), Hibikiya Pte Ltd, Ms.Reiko Siu Lai Hung, BJFA-UBD chapters, Language Centre of University Brunei Darussalam, Community Education & training Division (IBTE-CET), BERSATU/SSEAYP Alumni, JUNE, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), JENESYS Alumni, Miyazaki Prefecture, Niigata City, Brunei Kendo Alliance, Soul Industry and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

The last day of Japanese Language & Culture Week was filled with exciting activities including kite making workshop for kids that took place at 11am to 12pm yesterday. Other activities that took place in the afternoon were Taiko Japanese Drum performance by HIBIKIYA, Yoyo & Kendama performance by JENESYS Alumni, Japanese Cooking demonstration by Chef Usuki, Study in Japan sharing session by Brunei Association of Japan Alumni, as well as other singing and dancing performances by BJFA-UBD Chapter, SSEAYP Alumni, Soul Industry and Brunei Cosplayers.

Throughout the event, there was a lucky draw by Times Square and the prize presentation took place yesterday at 8pm. Ten prizes were given away last night and the presentation was done by the marketing manager of Times Square as well as the general manager, Mrs Amal Majidah Hj Suhaili. Prizes for the lucky draw comprised of hotel stay vouchers from Times Hotel, Ba’diah Hotel, Starlogde Hotel, Parkview Hotel and Jubilee Hotel as well as restaurant vouchers from Excapade Restaurant and Shinobu Sushi Restaurant. About 100 participants registered for the lucky draw during the three days event. The grand prize winner Taufiq Al Hakim bin Mohamad Jais brought home Canon Camera Ixus 175.

There was also a prize presentation for the Manga colouring competition last night. Present to give away the prizes was Lim Yee Liang, marketing manager of Times Square. The Manga colouring competition, which took place on the first day of the event was held by Best Eastern. First place went to Elysia Lim Pei Ying bringing home goodie bag whereas Tang Ann Yii and Chia Xuan Lei won second and third place respectively, bringing home goodie bag as prizes. The event ended with dance performances by Soul Industry and the Brunei Cosplay community. More pictures on their Facebook Page.

Moreover, Times Square Shopping Centre will be having a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament on 24th until 26th February 2017 as well as a National Chess Tournament on the same dates. For further information, please call 2338208 or 2338006 during office hours.