島ぜんぶでおーきな祭-第7回沖縄国際映画祭-

The festivities of the Okinawa International Movie Festival are reaching “All the Islands” this year, and for the first time the event is being marked in not one, but three major urban centers with red carpet events – to ensure as many people as possible can participate in the celebrations of local culture.

On Saturday March 28, OIMF held its first ever red carpet in Okinawa City, known locally as Koza. The main street of the town became a sea of smiles as thousands of people lined the red carpet to catch a glimpse of some of Japan’s most famous actors and comedians, as well as international guests. Some 48 groups featuring 383 guests thrilled the crowd for 1.5 hours.

First up on the carpet were Gori and Hiroki Kawata of comedy duo Garage Sale, who roused the crowd and greeted people as they made the walk down the parade of fans from the opening gates and eventually turned in to the Koza Music Town complex at the carpet’s end. All the while, cameras and phones snapped their smiling faces.

Gravitas was lent to the event by the presence of Kim Dong-Ho, founder of one the Asia’s most important events, the Busan International Film Festival. Dong-Ho has been a long-time supporter of OIMF, and his influence could be felt as stars of Asian cinema followed him down the carpet, including from Thai film “Timeline,” and Cambodian picture, “Gems in the Run.”

One the most popular TV Director’s Movie at OIMF7 has proved to be “Five Star Tourist,” and the film was well-represented, with “Japanese Beyonce” – actress Naomi Watanabe – attracting cheers and applause alongside Sara Takatsuki.

Hideta Takahata’s “Harajuku Denier” was also represented by a female actor, with Rina Takeda leading the cast on the carpet, which included the five members of Bee Shuffle all dressed in tartan. Bright and colorful outfits were common in the parade, with the starts of Local Origination Movie “Hospitality of Drunk” wearing traditional Japanese happis.

As the event reach its climax, some of the loudest cheers were saved for the beautiful Natsuna, who dressed in vibrant pink to represent “Miracle in Tanuma Hotel,” by Hisashi Ide. Actor Sho Aikawa from the film “Deadman Inferno” was equally as popular, but in complete contrast, the carpet was also filled with zombies from Koza City promotion video “Haisai Zombie.” 

Perhaps the most anticipated of the international guests to greet the Okinawa City crowd was Revalina S. Temat, star of Indonesian production “Assalamu’alaikum Beijing” by Guntur Soeharjanto. But the finale cheers were saved for the President of Yoshimoto himself, Hiroshi Osaki, alongside comedian Tamako Miyagawa.