The 11th Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF) began at 5pm, Thursday, April 18th with a star-studded gala. It featured actors and filmmakers from around the world gathering at the ANA Crowne Plaza Okinawa Harborview Hotel for the opening ceremony.

MCs Ayako Kisa and Yuichi Kimura introduced Hiroshi Osaki, Chairman and CEO of Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd., which organizes OIMF. Osaki reflected on his ten years as CEO, in which he has led the festival. “Although I am based in Osaka, I am always happy to return to Okinawa,” Osaki said. He also told the celebrants about a press conference that will be held during the festival to announce a new platform aimed at sharing entertainment from Okinawa with other parts of Asia.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki sent a special message expressing his gratitude to Osaki and everyone at Yoshimoto Kogyo for the remarkable success of the fest since 2009.

Naha Mayor Mikiko Shiroma said over the festival’s 11-year history it has attracted over a quarter of a million people. “I feel the energy that the festival brings,” enthused Shiroma. “And the energy is not only in Naha, but in all 41 of Okinawa’s towns and villages.” Masanori Matsukawa, the Mayor of Ginowan, which is also hosting some of the festival’s events, said that the celebration benefits all of Okinawa greatly.

Then, comedian and rakugo performer Katsura Bunshi took to the stage. He urged all of the guests to get a glass and join him in a toast. In his powerful voice he said, “Mensore,” a phrase that means, “welcome!” in Okinawa, and it signaled the beginning of the festival in a spirit of friendship.

One of the highly anticipated films of the 11th Okinawa International Movie Festival is the crowd-pleasing Indonesian drama “Keluarga Cemara.” A smash hit in its native country, drawing 1 million viewers in its first 10 days of release, it’s one of two films stressing family on the opening day.

The touching, work is based on the short stories of writer Arswendo Atmowiloto. It follows a well-off family from Jakarta that loses its comfortable house and money due to a dishonest business partner. They have no choice but to move into an old house in a remote area, which the two daughters initially hate. Their experiences test the relationships between each of the members of the family before finally bringing them closer together.

The team behind the film turned up to introduce it for the audience at the Sakurazaka Theatre. Asked why he wanted to remake the television series, up-and-coming director Yandy Laurens explained that a producer came to him and said, “Now what Indonesia needs is a film about a family.” He remembered the original television series, which was very popular when he was a child. “I also think the story has a lot to do with what is happening in Indonesia now,” the Laurens said.

The second film focusing on family on the initial day of OIMF 11 was the Vietnamese- Japanese effort “Daddy Issues.” This is Japanese director Ken Ochiai’s second film made in Vietnam and it screened on Thursday as part of the Special Invitation Section.

Previously the same story was made in Japanese and Korean, here hugely popular Vietnamese comedian Thai Hoa stars as a childish and irresponsible single father and rising star Kaity Nguyen as Chau, his serious daughter who is the best student at her school. When the spirit of Chau’s late mother sees that the two are not getting along, she casts a spell that forces them to change bodies for seven days. Soon, the father is struggling to balance studies with ballet practice, and the daughter is learning that life is the real world is not so easy.

Ochiai spoke after the screening. He said that in the past Vietnamese families tended to be quite large, but recently people are having fewer kids and the families are about the same size as those in Japan. He explained that meant the time was right to take this Japanese story about a family of three and change the setting to Vietnam.

The independent Sakurazaka Theatre is again hosting a program called “Sakurazaka Film University” for OIMF. It presents international films in a creative and fun way.
This year it began with a film by the director S.S. Rajamouli. “Magadheera” was a big hit for the Tollywood (the South Indian Telugu language) film industry in 2009. It is an epic fantasy, but it begins in present-day Hyderabad. A motorcycle stunt rider (Indian superstar Ram Charan) happens to brush the fingers of a mysterious woman and has a vision revealing they were lovers in a previous life 400 years ago. The story jumps back and forth over centuries, allowing for contemporary comedy scenes, and sweeping historic battles with dazzling special effects.

Top comedians were on hand to introduce the film and also be part of the screening. Nobuhiko Ohtani of the Yoshimoto comedy duo Dainoji served as the “Special Professor” for Indian Film. He introduced the members of other comedy duos, Kamaitachi, Colocolo Peppers and Miki, as well as the solo comedian Ken Koga.

As soon as the film started, the comedians let the jokes fly, leaving the audience in hysterics. People were also able to join in by shaking tambourines and glow sticks. Everything worked together to make the film even more fun to watch in the theater.

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