The 11th Okinawa International Movie Festival is supporting the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals with “Jimot CM Republic Final,” a competition of videos introducing a specific place and one or more of the SDGs.

Anyone could participate simply by putting a 30-second clip online with the hashtag #JIMOTCM. More than 700 entries were submitted. Submissions were made in three categories: the 41 towns and villages of Okinawa, the other 46 prefectures of Japan, and the rest of the world. Votes were taken from people who viewed the clips online, as well as the judges at the final event.

The theme for this year’s contest is “connecting with the future, the power of regions,” with the aim of giving children and future generations a feeling for important issues in the world.

Videos by the finalists were screened at an award ceremony on Saturday April 20st at Naminoue Umisora Park. The clips were introduced by many of Japan’s top comedians, including Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Junichi Komoto, Yuriyan Retriever and the duos Slimclub and Miki, among many others.

Two important visitors from the United Nations joined the event. Kaoru Nemoto, Director of the UN Information Centre in Tokyo said that this is her third year to come to the Okinawa International Movie Festival to talk about SDGs, and the second year of the Jimot CM Republic competition. “We are so thankful for the opportunity given to us by the festival,” she said.

Maher Nasser, the Director of the Outreach Division in the UN Department of Public Information, traveled from New York to Okinawa for the first time for the festival. He explained that every country in the world signed on the to the goals, with the aim of achieving them by 2030. “I am very thankful that Yoshimoto Kogyo is making entertainment of something we take very seriously because it is our job, and that is teaching people about SDGs,” he said. “UN reports are very serious and if you read one you would fall asleep. But this event makes them fun.”

The video that made it to the final round were screened, drawing laughter for their audience for their humor, and applause for their powerful messages.

Many of the video in the international section were made by Yoshimoto comedians based in other countries as part of the “Entertainers Living in Asia” program. The top honor, which includes a prize of 500,000 yen, went the comedy duo Ougon Jidai (“Golden Age”) that is based in the Philippines, where they made a video showing that humans don’t mind throwing trash in the oceans where fish eat, but wouldn’t like it if people threw garbage into their food.

The winner of the Okinawa section was announced the previous day at the “41Fes,” and the representative the city of Uruma collected his trophy for a video about teaching children the importance of life.

The prize in the all-Japan section went to a video from the city of Hiroshima. It introduces the work of Chikako Nakamoto, who has spent the last 38 years volunteering to cook nutritious meals for children in her community, making a big contribution toward SDG no. 2: “no hunger.” Nakamoto was overcome with emotion when she accepted the trophy, and immediately said she would use the 500,000 yen prize money

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