Tarantino-inspired comedy “One Third” wins Okinawa Fest

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 6th edition of the Okinawa Intl. Movie Festival announced the winners of its double-barreled Laugh and Peace competition section today at the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, Variety said.

The Golden Shisa Award, the fest’s most important prize covering all the pics in the competition, went to “One Third” Hiroshi Shinagawa’s twisty, wordy caper comedy inspired by the work of Quentin Tarantino and other Hollywood pics in the genre, referenced by the movie buff bank robber hero, played by Tatsuya Fujiwara.

The Uminchu Prize Grand Prix in the six-pic Peace category went to “Miss Granny,” Hwang Dong-hyeuk’s comedy about 74-year-old widow who miraculously regains her youth. The same award in the five-pic Laugh category was given to “Ultrafast! Sankinkotai,” Katsuhide Motoki’s period dramedy about an impoverished lord forced by the shogunate to make an emergency trip to the capital with his retainers or face serious consequences.

Both Uminchu prizes are decided by a jury of fans from both around the country and at the festival. The jury for the Golden Shisa was headed by veteran director and Osaka U of Arts professor Sadao Nakajima, assisted by Hong Kong director and producer Gary Tang, drama instructor and film producer Yoko Narahashi, Okinawan museum director and university lecturer Etsuko Higa and movie commentator LiLiCo.

The Grand Prize in the Creator’s Factory section for up-and-coming directorial talents went to Koji Fukada for “Inabe.” Meanwhile, the Best Picture Award for TV Director’s Movie section for theatrical pics by TV helmers was given to Eiji Itaya for “Love Session.”

Unspooling March 20-24 in Ginowan and Naha, Okinawa, with the sponsorship of the Osaka-based Yoshimoto Kogyo talent shop, the fest is a multimedia event that presents everything from major commercial pics to promo videos for local communities produced by amateurs from Okinawa and around the country.

As a barometer of the fest’s growing popularity with Okinawans, the first red carpet event held in Ginowan on opening day attracted 53,00 fans to see 595 guests on parade, including popular Yoshimoto comics, while the second such event, held on Sunday the 23rd in Naha, drew 58,000 people to watch 371 guests make their way down the city’s main street, including local megastar Masaki Okada and “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” star Johnny Knoxville.