3/9 (Fri)
Opening Ceremony and Screening

OAFF 2018 Off to a Fantastic Start!

The Osaka Asian Film Festival launched this year’s run with the opening ceremony at the Hankyu Umeda Hall on March 09, 2018.

At the opening ceremony, the lead actress of the opening film, “ANARCHIST FROM THE COLONY”, Moon CHOI, appeared with the directors’, LIM Kah-wai (林家威) of “NO WHERE, NOW HERE” [どこでもない、ここしかない], MIYAZAKI Daisuke (宮崎大祐) of “TOURISM”, TAKEUCHI Yosuke (竹内洋介) of “THE SOWER” [種をまく人] , and YAZAKI Hitoshi (矢崎仁司) of “STILL LIFE OF MEMORIES” [スティルライフオブメモリーズ]. They were followed by lead actress Irina CHIU and producer Tekun JI from “PAI KAU”, as well as actor ICHITANI Shin (一谷伸) and producer LEE Jong-eon from “WOOZOO BE ALRIGHT?” [あなたの宇宙は大丈夫ですか].

LIM Kah-wai, originally from Malaysia, has made six films in Asia and Europe, five of which have been screened by OAFF. He stepped forward as a representative of the other guests for the opening ceremony and gave a speech in which he said, “Osaka is a very special place for me, I feel very close to Asia when I am here. I will continue to work here in this city.” He referred to the original theme of the festival, “from Osaka to Japan and Asia,” and he added his own special addition, “and for me it feels like, “from Osaka to all of Asia and to the world.”

After the opening ceremony, Moon CHOI introduced the opening film in fluent Japanese saying, “even though this film has serious themes, it has humorous aspects too because the director’s style leans towards entertainment so it would be great if the audience enjoyed the light-hearted scenes alongside the real themes of the film.”

Moon CHOI lived in Osaka when she was an elementary school student and pointed out her former teacher who was in the audience, much to everyone’s surprise. Due to her personal connection with the city, she said “I am happy that OAFF is premiering the film in Japan.”

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