A Japanese film festival will be held in Myanmar's commercial city of Yangon late next month, aimed at strengthening the mutual friendship and boosting cultural exchange between Japan and Myanmar, sources with the Japanese Embassy said on Thursday.

The four-day film festival, which lasts from March 19 to 24, will take place at the embassy compound.

Two Japanese film , namely "Osaka Stroy" and "Miss Lonely", will be screened on the occasion, the sources said.

Meanwhile, another Japanese Film Festival 2009 was held in Yangon and Mandalay in January-February introducing four Japanese films, namely "Nabbie's Love", "Water Boys", "Linda Linda Linda" and "Ping Pong Bath Station".

The 2009 Japanese film festival is among a variety of exchange programs between Japan and the Mekong region countries to commemorate the year's Japan-Mekong Exchange Year, the logo and catch line of the event "Together toward the future, Mekong and Japan".

Japanese film festival has been held annually in Myanmar since 2000, sponsored by the Japanese embassy in collaboration with the Japan Foundation.

Significantly, in the 2007 Japanese film festival, three movies -- "Thway", "the Stars Converges" and "Not Yet" were presented to Myanmar audiences. Of them, the "Thway", featuring Japan-Myanmar friendship and is based on a well known Myanmar novel by Journal Gyaw Ma Ma Lay, was produced by the cooperation of Japan and Myanmar under the directorship of a dedicated Japanese film director Koji Chino in cooperation with the Myanmar Ministry of Information, Myanmar directors, actors and actresses.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2009)