Source: Peatix

September 21st of every year is Peace Day (International Day of Peace) designated by the United Nations. The United Nations for Peace Film Festival (UFPFF, UNITED FOR PEACE FILM FESTIVAL), a festival of short films for students with themes of "peace" and "SDGs", is held every year on Peace Day. This year, the 14th time, it will be held as one of the main activities of "PEACE DAY WEEK" to be held from September 16th (Monday, holiday) to September 21st (Saturday) at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya as a co-sponsored event with the NPO PEACE DAY.

The first part of the PEACE DAY special program will have an opening talk session between NPO PEACE DAY representative director Inoue Takashi, actor and talent Sahel Rose, and International Peace Film Festival representative director Sekine Kenji, followed by a screening of Sahel Rose's first directorial work "Bouquet" (executive producer: Iwai Shunji, music: SUGIZO), and after the screening, Sahel Rose and the cast will appear on stage. This film was made by young people from orphanages who responded to Sahel's call. It is a record of four years of young people living with pain challenging "expression."

The second part of the UFPFF 2024 will include screenings of this year's 10 finalists, a judging panel, and an award ceremony. In addition, a special invitation will be given to "Naziamini," which won the PLURAL+UFPFF Award 2023, sponsored by the UN agency with which we are partners every year. From the Sapporo International Short Film Festival 2023, the Peace Selection film "Palestine Islands" will be screened. After the screening, the festival director Toshiya Kubo will take to the stage. The Peace Day Talk will be moderated by Tsuyoshi Ito, representative of asobot inc., and will feature Sumiko Hatakeyama, co-representative of Peace Boat, as a guest, to discuss how we can achieve peace. We look forward to your participation.

＜Notice＞ Crowdfunding for the International Peace Film Festival 2024 is now underway! (9/8)

■Event Overview■
Date and time: Monday, September 16, 2024 12:00-19:30 (doors open at 11:45)
Location: Human Trust Cinema Shibuya Screen 1 (8F Cocochi Building, 1-23-16 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
Participation fee: Part 1 1,000 yen, Part 2 1,000 yen, All tickets 2,000 yen
Tickets are on sale until midnight the day before. If there are any remaining tickets, you can also participate on the day.
Organized by: International Peace Film Festival, NPO PEACE DAY
Supported by: Shibuya-ku,
Cooperation: Theatre Cinema Group

Part 2: International Peace Film Festival (UFPFF) Cooperation System
Supported by: Kansai Osaka 21st Century Association, a public interest foundation
Supported by: United Nations Information Centre
Silver Partners: LIFULL Co., Ltd., United People Co., Ltd., Virgin Group Co., Ltd.
Partners: Oggi Frutta Co., Ltd., Forval Co., Ltd.
Individual sponsors: Tomoko Suzuki, Takayuki Nishi
Cooperation: Sapporo International Short Film Festival (No Maps | FILM), Think the Earth, Yokohama Community Design Lab

【program】
Part 1: PEACE DAY Special Program (12:00-15:00)
・PEACE DAY Opening Talk: NPO PEACE DAY Representative Director Takashi Inoue x Sahel Rose x International Peace Film Festival Representative Director Kenji Sekine
・Screening of the film "Bouquet" (94 minutes)
・After-talk with Saher Rose (actor/talent) and cast members

(break)

Part 2: International Peace Film Festival (UFPFF) 2024 (15:30-19:30)
Main MC: Risa Kuwahara
・Opening speech: Kenta Usui, Secretary General of the International Peace Film Festival
・Greetings: International Day of Peace Message
・Screening of the 10 finalist films and speeches by the directors
・Special invitation screening: UN PLURAL+ 2023 UFPFF Award winning film "Naziamini" by Thai-Tanzania director (Tanzania)
・Sapporo International Short Film Festival 2024 Peace Selection Invited Screening "Palestine Islands" Director: Nour Ben Salem, Julien Mananteau (France)
Speaker: Sapporo International Short Film Festival Producer: Toshiya Kubo
・Peace Day Talk: Peace Boat Co-Chair Sumiko Hatakeyama x Asobot Inc. CEO Tsuyoshi Ito
・International Peace Film Festival 2024 Awards Ceremony
Closing remarks: Kenji Sekine, Representative Director of the International Peace Film Festival

[Official Judges]
Takashi Inoue (Chairman and CEO of LIFULL Co., Ltd.)
Katsuzo Takahashi (Director of the International Peace Film Festival)
Hiroki Tange (Filmmaker, Professor at Kyoto University of Arts)
Akihiro Nishizawa (Executive Officer, Tokyo Theatres Co., Ltd.)
Sahel Rose (Actor/Talent)

[Finalist works for screening]
10 works planned (max. 5 minutes each)

■About the movie "Bouquet"■

Young people who grew up in an orphanage harbored a variety of feelings and thoughts. They are hurt, but they keep smiling, and yet they also carry loneliness. Each person weaves their memories and expresses the pieces of their heart with all their heart and soul.

"Bouquet" is an experimental film that transcends the boundaries between documentary and fiction.

I (Sahel), who spent my childhood in an orphanage, was also saved by expression. If I lost the place where I could express myself, I would not be able to survive. That is why I decided to create this work, to pass on the baton of this life that is kept alive by expression to the next generation. I would be happy if the children currently in the institution and all the adults who are suffering, whether they have a family or not, would accept their expression, "Bouquet."

Directed by: Sahel Rose
Executive Producer: Shunji Iwai
Screenplay: Shirai Keita
Music: SUGIZO
Produced by: Aya Sato
Producer: Emi Tai
Cast: Huang Anli, Huang Jialin, Kono Shinya, Kurihara Naoya, Hoshino Maiyuka, Brohan Satoshi, Matsushima Magial, Yoshizumi Kaito, Moroboshi Fuuha, Sarah Alainn / Sato Koichi
©©︎2024hanataba project

■About the NPO PEACE DAY■
Vision: "Realize a peaceful world without conflict"
Mission: "Connect the thoughts and actions of individuals who believe in peace, and create a system that realizes peace through partnerships."
We began our activities in 2018, and in 2019 we established the general incorporated foundation PEACE DAY with this vision and mission, and in 2024 we transferred our activities to an NPO.
We aim to realize not only a state of negative peace, an absence of war, but also a state of positive peace, an absence of war and indirect violence (structural violence) resulting from social structures such as poverty, hunger, oppression, and discrimination, throughout the world.
We will use PEACE DAY as a starting point to expand our activities so that we can abolish all violence, increase multicultural sensitivity through the power of dialogue and empathy, respect all life, and enable all people to be happy and find true peace of mind.
With the aim of realizing a peaceful world, we will become a platform that connects one million citizens, companies, and organizations, and create a movement that will change the world and contribute to world peace.
https://peaceday.jp/

■About the International Peace Film Festival■
The United Nations Peace Film Festival (UFPFF) is a film festival with a peace theme. It has been held every year since 2011 on September 21st, the International Day of Peace designated by the United Nations, with the hope that young people from all over the world who wish for peace will get to know each other through film and make connections that transcend national borders. UFPFF hopes that through the production of films of less than five minutes, young people from all over the world will think about peace and take action to realize peace. It is also held in the hope that it will become an opportunity for viewers and entrants to connect with each other by learning about their differences and commonalities.
https://www.ufpff.com/

■Speaker Profile■

Sahel Rose
Actors and TV personalities
Born in Iran, she came to Japan at the age of 8 and began her entertainment career in high school.
She played the lead role in the stage play "Respectful Prostitute" and in the film "Cold Floor"
The film has won awards at various film festivals, including the Milan International Film Festival.
In addition to appearing in films and on stage, in recent years he has been active in a variety of fields, including directing and film direction.
He is expanding the scope of his activities as an artist.
In addition to her entertainment activities, she continues to personally support disaster relief efforts both at home and abroad.
In 2020, he was also awarded the Human Rights Activist of the Year Award in the United States.
In 2023, he was also selected as the Japanese representative for GIORGIO ARMANI's "Crossroads."

Takashi Inoue
Chairman and CEO of LIFULL Co., Ltd. / Representative Director of NPO PEACE DAY

Kanagawa Prefecture, born in Yokohama.
While working at Recruit Cosmos Co., Ltd. (now Cosmos Initia Co., Ltd.) as a new graduate, he had a strong desire to "change the way the real estate industry works," and in 1997 he went independent and founded Next Co., Ltd. (now LIFULL). Aiming to build a real estate information infrastructure using the Internet, he launched the real estate and housing information site "HOME'S (now LIFULL HOME'S)," which he grew into one of the largest sites in Japan. Currently, the company has about 20 group companies both in Japan and overseas, and provides services in more than 60 countries around the world.
His ultimate personal goal is world peace, and in addition to his work with LIFULL, he is also personally developing an industrial support project in the Republic of Benin, and serves as representative director of the Next Wisdom Foundation, a council member of the Well-being for Planet Earth public interest foundation, a director of the Japan Association of New Economy, a director of the 21st Century Learning Institute, and representative director of the Nascon Valley Council.

Toshiya Kubo
Executive Producer of Sapporo International Short Film Festival
Born in Otaru City in 1957. Graduated from Nihon University College of Art, Department of Broadcasting. After graduation, he worked for Zennoh-related companies, advertising agencies, foreign game companies, animation production companies, etc. In 2001, he planned and produced the Intercross Creative Center (ICC), and served as its chief coordinator until 2018, discovering and nurturing many creators and promoting the content industry in Sapporo. He is currently the executive producer of the Sapporo International Short Film Festival (established in 2006). He is also the representative director of Maverick Creative Works, Ltd. He is a lecturer at Fuji Women's University, Department of Cultural Studies, and Hokkaido University of Education.
https://sapporoshortfest.jp/

Sumiko Hatakeyama
Co-chair of Peace Boat
At Peace Boat, she is involved in the "Hibakusha's World Tour: Voyage of Testimony," which delivers testimonies from atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the world, as well as the "Earth University" educational program for young people. She graduated from the Department of Politics and Sociology at Cambridge University and completed her doctorate in science and technology history at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School. She is the co-author of "Navigating Disarmament Education: The Peace Boat Model" and "Killer Robots Are Coming!? From Military Drones to Robot Weapons."

Takeshi Ito
CEO of asobot inc. After working at a foreign advertising agency and in the editorial department of a culture magazine, he founded Asobot in 2001. He works on communication design in various fields with the concept of "Turning what you want to say into a form that can be conveyed." His main work includes the launch of the journal/tabloid magazine "GENERATION TIMES" (2004) and the founding of the NPO "Shibuya University" (awarded the Good Design Award 2007 in the New Frontier Design category). He also provides social sector consulting to support social issues in Japan, such as the domestic refugee problem, child poverty and abuse, and aging issues, and is involved as an expert in the field of international cooperation in countries such as Timor-Leste and Nepal. In addition, at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Graduate School's "Peace Building and Conflict Prevention Special Course," he is in charge of the master's curriculum "PEACE COMMUNICATION," which considers peace building from the perspective of communication strategies such as advertising and PR. Since 2019, he has also been involved in developing learning content, such as launching a new curriculum "LEARNING DESIGN" at the Waseda University School of International Liberal Arts.

Director of NPO Shibuya University / Director of NPO Okinawa Peace Cooperation Center / Lecturer, School of International Liberal Arts, Waseda University / Lecturer, Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Kenji Sekine
Representative Director of United People Co., Ltd., Representative Director of International Peace Film Festival General Incorporated Association, Co-Representative of Peace Day Japan, Director of NPO PEACE DAY, etc. Graduated from the Department of Economics at Beloit College. During his graduation trip, he happened to visit a conflict zone and learned about the reality of the world, and later made realizing peace his life's mission. In 2002, he founded United People Co., Ltd., whose business objective is to solve world problems. After managing the fundraising site "E-Kokoro!" and the petition site "Sign TV," he started his film business in 2009. In 2011, he began activities to spread the United Nations' International Day of Peace, commonly known as Peace Day, in Japan. He established the International Peace Film Festival General Incorporated Association and holds the International Peace Film Festival (UFPFF) every year to coincide with Peace Day. In 2014, he started operating "cinemo," which allows anyone to hold film screenings on social issues and the SDGs. In April 2016, he and his family of four embarked on a trip around the world, spending about a year living in Costa Rica, which is drawing attention as an ideal country for the 21st century. He is the producer of the film "Mottainai Kitchen." His books include "United People."

Kenta Usui
Secretary General of the International Peace Film Festival
Born in Tokyo in 1994. While studying at Keio University, he made the short film "Tonawariawase," inspired by Japan-China relations, which was a finalist and winner of the AFP Award at the 2015 International Film Festival for Peace (UFPFF). After graduating from university, he worked at an advertising agency while supporting the film festival as part of the UFPFF family, and will serve as the festival's secretary general from 2023.

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