film

Headlines explored visual and performing arts as a form of public diplomacy.

Masafat (Distances) is a two-part international festival held in London and Cairo and organized by London’s Thirty Three Thirty Three in partnership with the ICA and Cairo’s VENT. In September, both cities will see four days of music, film, talks and events showcasing “the best in forward-thinking underground culture, promoting cultural and artistic exchange between the two regions,” according to the event description. 

The team, comprised of ten refugee athletes from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will compete in the Rio 2016 Olympics and march in the Opening Ceremony tomorrow. The International Olympic Committee is funding the team to draw attention to the global refugee crisis. UNHCR released a 90-second film about the refugee athletes today, which is hosted on the organisation’s YouTube page. 

The annual J-Pop Summit, hosted by Superfrog Project, will be held from July 22 to 24. This Japanese cultural festival has been held in San Francisco every summer since 2009. By introducing the latest in Japanese music, fashion, film, art, games, tech-innovations, anime, and food, as well as niche subcultures, the festival has become a landing platform for new trends from Japan. 

Indeed, Nollywood has become a global phenomenon in the contemporary times. According to Tochukwu J. Okeke, the industry has grown so big today that it is considered a cultural export for Nigeria as it selects most of its themes from the culture of the people, not minding the multiplicity of Nigerian cultures since film can be used “as a catalyst towards the integration of the various ethnic cultures in Nigeria to the extent that it now commands a wide viewership across the African continent and beyond.

Film and television works have an important role in transcending emotions and connecting different cultures, officials said at a symposium today. High-level translation is crucial to draw people from different countries closer and support the cultural development, Ding Wei, Vice Minister of Culture of China, said at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Sino-Foreign Audiovisual Translation and Dubbing (SFATD) Cooperation Workshop & Symposium.

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