The 1st Okinawa International Movie Festival was held from March 19 to March 22, 2009, and took place at American Village in Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa. The inaugural events saw 38 films being shown and was supported by the Ministries of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Foreign Affairs, along with the Cabinet Office in Okinawa.
Most of the films for the first Okinawa International Movie Festival were shown free of charge, with a few priced at ¥800/ ¥400 for adults/ children. Sunset Beach in Chatan Town also hosted performances by Okinawan artists Rimi Natsukawa and the Rinken Band.
The Competition Grand Prix was awarded to Japanese director Katsuhide Motoki for his film Battle League Horumo.
Official selection The official selection of films shown in competition included three domestic films out of eight in competition, all of which were given their world premiers. The five competing foreign films were given their Japan premier at the festival.
Competition The following films were selected as In Competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country/countriesBattle League Horumo 鴨川ホルモー Katsuhide Motoki JapanGuardian Angel 守護天使 Yuichi Sato JapanBaby, Baby, Baby! ベイビィ ベイビィ ベイビィ！ Kazuyuki Morosawa JapanSunshine Cleaning Christine Jeffs United StatesA Fiancé For Yasmina Un novio para Yasmina Irene Cardona Spain, MoroccoMy Stars Mes stars et moi Laetitia Colombani FranceSimply Actors 戲王之王 Hing-Ka Chan & Patrick Leung Hong KongUnstoppable Marriage 못말리는 결혼 Seong-wook Kim South Korea
Out of Competition The following films were screened out of competition: Special Invitation
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryGoemon (film)* GOEMON Kazuaki Kiriya JapanOppai Volleyball* おっぱいバレー Yuichi Sato JapanYes Man (film) Peyton Reed United StatesThe Summit: A Chronicle of Stones to Serenity 劔岳 点の記 Daisaku Kimura JapanBurn After Reading Joel & Ethan Coen United StatesCrows Zero 2 クローズZERO II Takashi Miike JapanBeverly Hills Chihuahua* Raja Gosnell United StatesGloss Глянец Andrei Konchalovsky RussiaIf You Are the One 非诚勿扰 (Fei Cheng Wu Rao) Xiaogang Feng ChinaPainted Skin* 画皮 (Hua Pi) Gordon Chan China
Special Screening
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryAh Single あゝ独身 Yoshiyuki Kuroda JapanOtosan wa Ohitoyoshi お父さんはお人好し Torajiro Saito JapanTokyo Kid 東京キッド Torajiro Saito JapanNo Problem 無問題 Alfred Cheung Hong Kong, JapanThe Circus (1928 film) Charlie Chaplin United StatesThe Gold Rush Charlie Chaplin United StatesDrunken Master 醉拳 Woo-Ping Yuen Hong KongFrench Cancan French Cancan Jean Renoir France, ItalyFeature on Osamu Tezuka 手塚治虫特集 Osamu Tezuka JapanFeature on Fujio Akatsuka 赤塚不二夫特集 Fujio Akatsuka JapanFeature on Mikio Igarashi いがらしみきお特集 Mikio Igarashi JapanFeature on Tatsuo Yoshida 吉田竜夫（タツノコプロ）特集 Tatsuo Yoshida JapanFeature on Walt Disney ウォルト･ディズニー特集 Walt Disney United StatesAirplane! Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker United StatesTough Guys! Tough Guys! Shintaro Kishimoto JapanMutenkadesuyo! The Movie 無添加ですよ！ザ・ムービー Jiro Nishida Japan
Yoshimoto Special Presentation (all world premieres)
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryKing of the Escape 板尾創路の脱獄王 Itsuji Itao JapanDrop ドロップ Hiroshi Shinagawa JapanNisesatsu ニセ札 Yuichi Kimura JapanFurimun in Okinawa 南の島のフリムン Gori (comedian) Hong Kong, Japan
Jury
Competition Kim Dong Ho, Executive Chairman of Pusan International Film Festival Jerry Zucker, Writer & director from the United States Somemaru Hayashiya, Comic storyteller Gordon Chan, Hong Kong filmmaker You (actress), Japanese actress Bokunen Naka, Woodblock artist
Awards
Official selection
In Competition The Okinawa International Movie Festival "Laugh & Peace" Competition Grand Prix was won by the Japanese-language film Battle League Horumo directed by Katsuhide Motoki.
See also Okinawa International Movie Festival
References
External links Okinawa International Movie Festival official website (in English) Official Okinawa International Movie Festival Facebook Page
ja:沖縄国際映画祭