6th Okinawa International Movie Festival

The 6th Okinawa International Movie Festival was officially opened March 21 with an Opening Ceremony in which many of the organisers took to the stage to speak about the continued development of the event and its positive impact throughout Okinawa.

 

Hosted by Koji Imada, Ayako Kisa and Mai Sato, the ceremony began with opening statements from Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and Yoshimoto Kogyo CEO Hiroshi Osaki.

Atsushi Sakima, Mayor of Ginowan City, where the main events of the festival once again take place, declared the festival a “joyous occasion,” noting the expansion of the “Laugh & Peace” theme which has become synonymous with the festival with a new theme of “All Things Great on all Islands” – designed to ensure its impact reaches far wider then ever before.

It was revealed that last year’s festival saw an attendance of 420,000 across all events, and the festival’s impact was also noted by Yoshiyuki Uehara from the Okinawa Convention & Visitors bureau, who stated that last year saw the greatest number of tourists ever to visit Okinawa.

The Jury for the competition section, which is split into two categories of “Laugh” and “Peace,” each bowed before the audience. The Jury President, Sadao Nakajima, must decide which movie will be awarded the Golden Shisa at the end of festival, along with his fellow jury members Gary Tang, Yoko Narahashi, Etsuko Higa and LiLiCo.