Framing Japanese Film Festival Diplomacy: A Case Study on the Japanese Film Festival in the Philippines

Date of Award

12-1-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts major in Japanese Studies

First Advisor

Kristine Michelle L. Santos, PhD

Abstract

This thesis studies the Japan Foundation-organised Japanese film festival in the Philippines (1997-2019) widely known as ‘Eiga Sai,’ as a tool for international cultural exchange. To explain how the Japan Foundation has represented Japanese culture to the Philippines through Eiga Sai, this thesis analyses its cultural and diplomatic properties through the circuit of culture, an analytical framework concerned with meaning making and signification processes that are circulated through the cultural aspects of identity, representation, production, consumption, and regulation. A combination of methods including content analysis of film festival brochures and film reviews, diplomatic policy analysis, purposive in-depth interviews with the film festival organisers are used to identify the cultural trends and representations that have emerged in film festival presentation, brand development, geo-strategic planning, film programming, and film interpretation of Eiga Sai in the Philippines throughout its 23 years of operation. Eiga Sai has transformed from a primarily localised interpretation in the Philippines to a Tokyo-developed globalised brand and has grown to represent Japan consistently in several localities in the Philippines across the three major islands (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). These changes manifest in several film festival aspects such as its design (name, promotional designs), setting (venue and dates), and content (programmed films and time-events). Likewise, these film festival aspects enshrine different values and representations of Japan, such as inclusivity, youth, uniformity, collaboration, bilateral history, ASEAN regionalism, prestige, pop culture, diversity, and diplomatic culture.

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