3rd Okinawa International Movie Festival

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The festival was scaled back as a result of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami with many guests cancelling their visits and attendance down on the previous year from 380,000 to 310,000. Only British comic writer Tony Hawks and Taiwanese director Yeh Tien-lun attended from abroad. The event was instead turned into a fundraiser raising more than US$1 million, including ¥10,949,189 (approx. US$125,000) collected by 550 staff during the event itself. Organizers Yoshimoto Kogyo had a history of assisting in the face of such disasters having set up Osaka's first FM radio network following the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe in 1995.

The festival started with a minute's silence held on the main stage with Yoshimoto President Hiroshi Osaki, Chairman Isao Yoshino, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and Ginowan City Mayor Yoichi Iha addressing the crowd.

All of the ¥6,470,000 in prize money was donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Official selection

The official selection was announced at a press conference on Tuesday 22 February 2011, with Hiroshi Shinagawa's "Manzai Gang" as the opening film, one of three directed by Yoshimoto Kogyo talent. A further seven were co-produced by Yoshimoto. 15 foreign titles were announced, including several premieres such as Ivan Reitman's comedy No Strings Attached (film) starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.

Competition

The official selection of films was broken into two categories, Laugh and Peace, each with 12 entrants. The former focuses on comedy films, while the latter includes dramas and documentaries with elements of comedy. The Chinese film Aftershock by Feng Xiaogang was dropped out of respect for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Laugh Category

The following films were selected as In Competition for the Laugh Category:

Peace Category

The following films were selected as In Competition for the Peace Category:

Out of Competition

The following films were screened out of competition: ;Special Screening "Okinawa Presentation"

;Project of Local Areas "Films from Local Areas"

Jury

;Competition

• Lee Yong Kwan, Chairman of Busan International Film Festival
• Wang Rugang, Chinese comedy actor
• Chu Yu-ning, Taiwanese filmmaker
• Kiyota Oshiro, Japanese Pointillist

Awards

Official selection

;In Competition The Golden Shisa Award was won by the Japanese-language film Hankyū Densha directed by Yoshishige Miyake.

The Laugh Category Uminchu Prize Grand Prix went to "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love" from Thailand, directed by Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong.

The Peace Category Uminchu Prize Grand Prix was won by Hankyū Densha by Yoshishige Miyake.

The Jimot CM competition Grand Prix Award went to Masako Suzuki. The Grand Prix Award winner in the World Wide Laugh short-film was "Balloon Man the Challenge" by TBS.

References

References

1. Darrell Nelson. (2012-03-28). "Fourth Okinawa International Movie Festival". Shift East.
2. Gavin J. Blair. (2011-03-23). "Okinawa Intl Movie Fest to Open for Fun in the Sun". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
3. Robert Michael Poole. (2012-03-21). "Laughter Rules at Okinawa's Movie Fest". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
4. Liza Foreman. (2012-03-25). "Okinawa International Movie Festival Celebrates Comedians". Thompson on Hollywood.
5. Mark Schilling. (2011-04-01). "Okinawa laughs till it cries at benefit fest". [[The Japan Times]].
6. Kaori Shoji. (2011-03-18). "Stars certain movie business will bounce back". [[The Japan Times]].
7. Mark Schilling. (2011-03-24). "Laughs, tears at comedy film fest". [[The Japan Times]].
8. Mark Schilling. (2011-02-25). "Sun, sea and celluloid in Okinawa". [[The Japan Times]].