THE Japanese Film Festival comes to Coffs Harbour Jetty Theatre in February 2022.

Kirsten Binnie, Secretary of the Coffs Harbour Australia-Japan Society told News Of The Area, “For the past few years Coffs Harbour has been lucky enough to play host to the Japanese Film Festival.

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“This festival sees the community come together to celebrate great cinematography and Japanese culture.

“The Australia-Japan Society of Coffs Harbour, in conjunction with the Jetty Theatre and the Japan Foundation Sydney will run the event over the weekend of 5 and 6 February.”

Kirsten is passionate about all things Japanese and teaches the Japanese language at St John Paul College in Coffs Harbour.

“I have been fortunate to have visited Japan many times over my life and even lived there for two years.

“The Australia-Japan Society of Coffs Harbour has been promoting friendship between the people of Australia and Japan and bringing together locals who have an interest in and a love for the Japanese culture and traditions since 1990.

“The Society was started two years after the sister city relationship was established between Coffs Harbour and Sasebo.

“We are a non-profit organisation whose members are volunteers.

“As a member of the National Australia-Japan Society, we offer various activities and events each year for both our members and the public to enjoy.

“For example, last year we were involved in the Manga Mania Exhibition at the National Cartoon Gallery.

“The exhibition was opened by Mr Omura, the Deputy Chief of Mission, from the Japanese Embassy in Canberra and our members were able to not only attend the opening night but also have dinner with Mr Omura afterwards.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic has made some of these events more challenging and the biggest impact it has had is on our annual Children’s Day Festival held at the Botanical Gardens.

“However, we hope that we can offer further events and activities this year as well as bringing back the Children’s Day Festival in the near future.”

This year’s Film Festival includes three films.

Children of the Sea (海獣の子供) is a movie with a strong environmental message as three young children get caught up in the mysterious disappearance of the ocean’s fish.

Born Bone Born (洗骨), set in Okinawa (the southernmost island of Japan), is a light-hearted comedy drama about a family reuniting to participate in an Okinawan funeral ritual called ‘senkotsu’ (bone washing).

And Your Bird Can Sing (きみの鳥はうたえる) features three young adults’ lives become entwined over the course of a long summer in Hakodate, Hokkaido (the northernmost island of Japan).

Tickets are free and available online at the Jetty Memorial Theatre from 19 January.

By Andrea FERRARI