DAVAO CITY—Organizers of the Japanese Film Festival said that more and more Dabawenyos are coming to the cinema to watch the selected Japanese films shown at the event.
According to Angely Chi, Davao Film Coordinator of the Japanese Film Festival the Philippines ranked the highest in attendance in the worldwide staging of the Japanese Film Festival with the Davao leg contributing a significant amount to the audience.
“In Davao City we saw lines of people of all ages going to watch the films,” Chi said.
She said the Philippines had 41,951 total attendees last year with Davao City having 7,879 attendees.
Baguio had the highest number of attendees due to its theater size, as their theater had a seating capacity of 400 plus, next in rank was Manila.
“We ranked third as our maximum capacity in our assigned cinema last year was 338 seats,” Chi said.
Organizers of the Japanese Film Festival are expecting a bigger audience turnout here in Davao.
“With the successful turnout last year at the Japanese Film Festival Davao, we expect more people to come and watch the films this year. We are relying on the word-of-mouth of last year’s audience who enjoyed their experience at the JFF,” Chi said.
The Japanese Film Festival 2025 in Davao will be held from February 21 to March 2 at SM City Davao Cinema. Aside from Davao City, the other film festival locations in the country are in Baguio, Manila, Iloilo and Cebu.
Presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila, Japanese Film Festival was launched in 1997 and known as Eigasai, it has grown to become one of the most anticipated film festivals in the country.
This year’s Japanese Film Festival will have 12 Japanese films with Godzilla: Minus One as the opening film.
Godzilla: Minus One released in 2023 is hailed as one of the best Godzilla films won the 96th Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
A drama film titled “Dito” is set in Manila, directed and starred by Yuki Takashi casts as a boxer who relocates to the Philippines. The film also features a Filipino cast including celebrated boxer Manny Pacquiao who has a special appearance in the film.
Chi said Yuki Takashi will be gracing Dito’s screening in Davao City.
“All the screenings will be for free. For this year we will be having an e-ticketing system through ticket2me,” Chi said.
An e-ticketing system will enable those wanting to watch films to have guaranteed seats when they go to the cinema as the film festival had several fullhouse movie screenings. Walk-ins are also welcome to the screenings.
The rest of the film lineup in the 2025 Japanese Film Festival include; Akira, Sand Land, Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, Our Secret Diary, Let’s Go Karaoke, The Imaginary, Matched, Under the Open Sky, and Monster. (PIA/RGA)
