4th Okinawa International Movie Festival


The 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival was held from March 24 to March 31, 2012 and took place at the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan City and Sakurazaka Theater in Naha, owned and run by Japanese director Yuji Nakae. Total attendance was 410,000.
The fourth Okinawa International Movie Festival also included 'Okinawa Contents Land', in which 50 companies from around Asia showcased their products and services. Other events included the Pachinko Movie Awards for gamblers, a fashion show led by model and singer Anna Tsuchiya, live music and comedy from Okinawan artists Rimi Natsukawa and Begin, and the Okinawa Elementary School Movie Festival, which nurtures filmmakers of the future.
26 films were screened in competition, The Golden Shisa Award going to A Simple Life by director Ann Hui from Hong Kong.

Official selection

The official selection of films was broken into two categories, Laugh and Peace, each with 13 entrants. The former focuses on comedy films, while the latter includes dramas and documentaries with elements of comedy. Organizers focused on Asian films for this edition of the festival. Before each screening, every film was introduced by one of Yoshimoto Kogyo's comedians. 102 films in total were shown.

Competition

Laugh Category

The following films were selected as In Competition for the Laugh Category:
English titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction country/countries
All's Well, Ends Well 2012八星抱喜Hing Ka Chan & Janet ChunHong Kong
Ah! Minister!あぁ...閣議Daiya GorikiJapan
The Bridal Night and The Lotus Root!初夜と蓮根Masahiro YamaguchiJapan
Endless Stage営業100万回Koichi HamataniJapan
Go Ahead of the LimitロケみつTHE MOVIE このさきのむこうにHiroshi ArimotoJapan
Nasi Lemak 2.0辣死你妈NameweeMalaysia
Hi-Zaiハイザイ 神さまの言うとおりShuhei FukanagaJapan
Penny Pinchers티끌모아 로맨스Kim Jung-hwanSouth Korea
Private BenjaminThe Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin 'Wenn DeramasPhilippines
SuckSeedSuckSeed ห่วยขั้นเทพ 'Chayanop BoonprakobThailand
Tabakoi: The Love Story that Begins with Cigarettesタバコイ ~タバコで始まる恋物語~ 'Michinari NakagawaJapan
BridesmaidsPaul FeigUnited States
Readyরেডি 'Anees BazmeeIndia

Peace Category

The following films were selected as In Competition for the Peace Category:
English titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction country
Blazing Famiglia莫逆家族 バクギャクファミーリアKazuyoshi KumakiriJapan
Dream in the Rising Sunヒノマル♪ドリームYuji GobuichiJapan
Love Is Not Blind失恋33天Teng HautaoChina
Joyful Reunion饮食男女2012 Jui-Yuan TsaoTaiwan, China
A Letter to Momoももへの手紙Hiroyuki OkiuraJapan
PotechiポテチYoshihiro NakamuraJapan
Signalシグナル 月曜日のルカMasaaki TaniguchiJapan
A Simple Life桃姐 Ann HuiChina, Hong Kong
Working Holidayワーキング・ホリデーKoichi OkamotoJapan
The Artist*The ArtistMichel HazanaviciusFrance
Attack the BlockJoe CornishUnited Kingdom
Café de FloreJean-Marc ValléeCanada
HysteriaTanya WexlerUnited States, United Kingdom

Out of Competition

The following films were screened out of competition:
;Panoramic Screening
English titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction country
Grap Freeter Tokiグラッフリーター刀牙Kenichi FujiwaraJapan
EmptyからっぽShogo KusanoJapan

Jury

;Competition

Official selection

;In Competition
The Golden Shisa Award was won by A Simple Life directed by Ann Hui.
The Laugh Category Uminchu Prize Grand Prix went to Thai musical drama SuckSeed directed by Chayanop Boonprakob.
The Peace Category Uminchu Prize Grand Prix was won by A Simple Life directed by Ann Hui.