島ぜんぶでおーきな祭-第7回沖縄国際映画祭-

The 7^th Okinawa International Movie Festival ­– this year with a new all-inclusive theme – kicked off on Wednesday evening with an Opening Ceremony on the beach at the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan.
 

Hosted by Koji Imada and Ayako Kisa, the ceremony drew an audience of thousands, ranging from actors and directors from across Asia, to home-grown talent, comedians, artists and an excited crowd that gathered all around the waterside stage to catch the festivities.

The ceremony began with a speech by Hiroshi Osaki, president of Yoshimoto Kogyo and the force behind the festival. Joined on stage by renowned comedian Tamako Miyagawa, Osaki expressed his delight at the continued success of the event, and most importantly its continued transformation into a celebration of “All the Islands” – this year’s tagline.

Over the years OIMF has strived to reach out and include all of the 41 municipalities that form the long island chain of Okinawa prefecture. But never has the success of the festival been more apparent than in this year’s edition, which saw over a dozen representatives of the regions of Okinawa take to the stage with brightly colored flags to show their unity. Each representative – some dressed in appropriate comedic outfits – took their turn to greet to crowd, truly showing how OIMF has brought the islands together like no other event.
 

Okinawa Prefecture Deputy Mayor Mitsuo Ageda and Okinawa Tourism Board Director Shigenobu Asato each welcomed the crowd to the five-day festival, which this year is divided between Ginowan and Naha, before Imada and Kisa introduced this year’s films.

Trailers for 16 Special Invitation films created anticipation amongst the audience – the camera panning to visiting directors and actors from productions including the highly anticipated Indonesian film “Assalamu’alaikum Beijing,” Cambodian movie “Gems on the Run,” and South Korean production “Fashion King.”