<div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="docs-internal-guid-fbff49f9-be3f-b888-de71-c06dbe1708b7"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Dear KineJapan subscribers,</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">The </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is glad to announce the program for its 16th edition, taking place from </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">May 24 to 29, 2016</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. Once again, the festival presents more than 100 short and feature films, including many German, European, and international premieres. The lineup includes such critically acclaimed films as Ryosuke Hashiguchi’s </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Three Stories of Love</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and veteran director Yoji Yamada’s </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Nagasaki: Memories of My Son</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. Animated films like Shunji Iwai’s </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">The Case of Hana & Alice</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and documentaries like Kazuhiro Soda’s </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Oyster Factory</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> are also part of the festival’s diversity. The complete program can be found at </span><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nipponconnection.com_nc-2D2015-2Denglish.html&d=DQMFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=jpTkHVtxqZI37b5d89tNtIXPFejj9d2APR7DOj02F2U&s=mt7w1VOKYDq_FpYCSF72yFZkx9KmB9p-WlD1DhKxmRE&e=" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,128);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">www.nipponconnection.com</span></a><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Many filmmakers will come all the way from Japan to introduce their works at the festival in person. Among them will be </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Kiyoshi Kurosawa</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, who will receive this year's </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Nippon Honor Award</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> for his outstanding contributions to Japanese cinema. While two of his latest films – </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Creepy</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Journey to the Shore</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> – are part of the regular </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Nippon Cinema</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> section, two more of his classics – </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Cure</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Tokyo Sonata</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> – will be presented as special screenings.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Other guests include directors like </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Isao Yukisada </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">(</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Pink and Gray</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">), </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Daishi Matsunaga </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">(</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Pieta in the Toilet</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">), and </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Satoko Yokohama </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">(</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">The Actor</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">). Moreover, actor </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Kiyohiko Shibukawa</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, who can be seen starring in such films as Eiji Uchida's </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Lowlife Love</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, Gakuryu Ishii's </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">That's It</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, and Sion Sono's </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Love & Peace</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, will attend the festival. Altogether, more than 50 Japanese filmmakers and artists are expected as guests: </span><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nipponconnection.com_guests.html&d=DQMFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=jpTkHVtxqZI37b5d89tNtIXPFejj9d2APR7DOj02F2U&s=K6A1P6QAuSMDPUu72XwLlJwDmBPHluNM996n5JO5_tE&e=" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">www.nipponconnection.com/guests.html</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span></a><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">The </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Nippon Visions</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> section will again feature a variety of alternative and critical perspectives in both fiction and documentary films. Productions from big studios and from independent and student filmmakers are united in the </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Nippon Animation</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> section. The film program is topped off by the retrospective </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Ghosts & Demons – Scary Tales from Japan</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. Nine classics of Japanese kaidan and horror film from the late 1940s to the 1960s will be accompanied by a lecture by Dr. Elisabeth Scherer (University of Düsseldorf) as well as by individual introductions given by Tom Mes, Dr. Alex Zahlten and others. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Among the </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">special highlights</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> of the film program is the film and music performance by experimental filmmaker </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Takashi Makino</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and British Free Jazz musician </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Hilary Jeffery</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. The Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA) will present a special screening of Hiroaki Yoshida's </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Twilight of the Cockroaches</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, with new subtitles provided by JVTA exclusively for Nippon Connection and a lecture by Jonathan M. Hall (Pomona College). Nippon Connection is also proud to showcase the </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">international premiere of the Netflix Japan series</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Hibana</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">. Ryuichi Hiroki served as main director for the adaptation of Naoki MATAYOSHI’s best­selling novel.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">As always, </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">talks with filmmakers</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">panel discussions</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, and further </span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">lectures</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> like the one given by film scholar and critic Dennis Vetter on the visualization of the March 2011 triple disaster in Japanese documentary films will provide valuable insights into Japanese film production and the wider social and political context of cinema.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Looking forward to welcome you in Frankfurt!</span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""><br class=""></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">The Nippon Connection Team</span></p><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"><br class=""></span><span style="font-size:16px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"></span><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size:x-small">Nippon</span><br></div><div><font size="1">Connection</font></div><div><font size="1">** * *</font></div><div><font size="1">16. Japanisches Filmfestival</font></div><div><font size="1">24. – 29. Mai 2016</font></div><div><font size="1">Frankfurt am Main</font></div><div><font size="1"><br></font></div><div><font size="1">Office: Nippon Connection e.V., c/o AStA</font></div><div><font size="1">Mertonstr. 26-­28, D­60325 Frankfurt am Main</font></div><div><font size="1">Mobil: +49 (0)157 369 75 346</font></div><div><font size="1">Fon: +49 (0)69 798 22 986, Fax: +49 (0)69 798 22 987</font></div><div><font size="1">Martin@NipponConnection.com</font></div><div><font size="1"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.NipponConnection.com&d=DQMFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=jpTkHVtxqZI37b5d89tNtIXPFejj9d2APR7DOj02F2U&s=o9X7EIdcXlq7Tzj3cj_7QDpMniabGlGswsAXrQBFN9U&e=" target="_blank">www.NipponConnection.com</a></font></div><div><font size="1"><br></font></div><div><font size="1">Veranstaltungsorte:</font></div><div><font size="1">Künstlerhaus Mousonturm / Theater Willy Praml in der Naxoshalle /</font></div><div><font size="1">Die Käs / Mal Seh’n Kino / Deutsches Filmmuseum / Ausstellungsraum Eulengasse</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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