Diana Farah

DUBAI: Dubai’s popular AlSerkal Avenue is hosting Natsu, a programme running from June 25 until July 31, featuring Japanese film screenings with the support of the Japan Foundation and the Consulate-General of Japan, along with activations from other stores at the Avenue.

The Japanese summer began on Saturday with a fun Japan-inspired DJ set at record store The Flip Side. Filipino and Emirati DJs 199x and Almo 100 played a three-and-a-half-hour City Pop special set, featuring records and music inspired by Japan’s 80s era.

The set is also portrayed as a unification of pop, disco, funk, R&B and jazz music. 199x told Arab News Japan that he was highly influenced by the Japanese 80s City Pop era and always had a special connection with the genre.

Cinema Akil, with the support of the Japan Foundation and in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan, is screening weekly Japanese films to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the UAE.

The first film featured was Weathering with You, which was screened on June 25.

The upcoming screening schedule at Cinema Akil is as follows:

• Children of the Sea on July 3
• Gintama: The Very Final on July 17
• Sansho the Bailiff on July 24
• The Crucified Lovers on July 31

Other activities include a free Matcha soft serve with every Cinema Akil registration from Japanese inspired plant-based café Moby.

An exhibition by art space CHI-KA also started on June 26 named Emotional Topography: Japan in Summer. An Ikebana workshop will be held on July 3 at Ame Studio and the launch of The Edit Matcha Bar x Matcha Union on July 17.