RI foreign ministry holds Asia-Africa film festival

Bandung, West Java (ANTARA news) - The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry in association with Asian and African embassies will hold an Asia Africa Film Festival featuring 14 films from Iraq, Uzbekistan, India, Bangladesh, Algeria, Kenya, South Korea, China, Japan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia from December 6 to 8, 2007 at the same time in Bandung, Medan, Gorontalo, and Balikpapan.

Public Information and Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andri Hadi said when opening the festival at the Merdeka Building in Bandung on Wednesday that this was the very first event of the kind held in Indonesia.

"It is a follow up of the New Asian-African Stategic Partnership (NAASP) declaration issued during the 2005 Summit in the West Java provincial capital which also called on increased social and cultural cooperation," he said.

During this event, the concept of people to people contacts are expected to foster relations among the peoples of Asia and Africa.

"We hope by way of these films which will be shown in the four cities in Indonesia could also be enjoyed by the younger generation so that they would become more familiar with the socio-cultural aspects and history of the peoples of Asia and Africa by way of entertainment media," he said.

Andri said the 14 movie pictures will be about socio-cultural affairs, history, nationalism and education.

The 14 films include Semayawi Ferese (Ethiophia), Mangal Panday (India), Joint Security Area (S Korea), The Clay Bird (Bangladesh), Chashma (Uzbekistan), The Overture (Thailand), King Kyansitt (Myanmar) and Together (China).

The other films are L`ennemi Intime (Algeria), Naga Bonar Jadi 2 (Indonesia), Africa`s Dilema (Help) (Kenya), Nitaboh (Japan), Black Eyes (Iran) and Arumosam Vehi (Sri Lanka).

Movie film enthusiasts can enjoy the films in the Bandung Institute of Technology campus, Unpad in Jatinangor, Blitz Megaplex in Bandung, Medan state university, North Sumatra University in Medan, Tri Dharma University in Balikpapan and at State University of Gorontalo.