Ms. Marline Dualan, Division Manager for Marketing, Shangri-La Plaza;
Mr. Takatori, Japan Foundation;
Distinguished guests, film lovers, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the first cultural event of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Month.
Jean Luc Godard, a famous French movie director who led the “nouvelle vague” during the 60s, said “All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl.”
Of course he was criticizing the modern cinema industry. As a Frenchman he didn't like Hollywood. I prefer a quote from another Italian-American film director of the 80's Martin Scorsese who said, “ Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this. ”
Movies incite us to laugh together, cry together, and there is no foreign accent when you laugh and cry. The more we communicate with each other, the more we will develop mutual understanding. I believe that our friendship thrives on this foundation.
I find it auspicious that the 55th anniversary of our postwar diplomatic ties coincides with Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th anniversary. In 1888, Jose Rizal wrote his family from Japan, “in the future we shall have much contact and relations with Japan.”
His words can never be truer. Despite the rough patch during the war, our two countries have been successful in overcoming the past and developed a constructive relationship that we now enjoy. In fact, the latest BBC World Service Poll revealed that the Philippines is one of the nations most sympathetic to Japan. The recent calamity in Japan demonstrated that the Philippines is a true friend of Japan.
Tonight, we kick-start our celebration of friendship by the Academy award-winning movie, Departures. Various events will follow through July, like concert of koto (a traditional Japanese harp) and acoustic guitar, as well as a j-pop anime singing contest.
So please enjoy and for coming tonight, Maraming Salamat Po.
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines