The Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF) began as a celebration of comedy films from around the world back in 2009. Now presenting its 8th edition, the event is proving that it is no joke – this year presenting an original production in collaboration with Netflix Japan that could be the beginning of a new era for Japanese entertainment.In recent editions of the event, some of the most influential people in Japanese cinema have openly lamented the poor quality of products being released domestically. Fed up with the film industry simply turning to TV directors to make “truly terrible” movies, and selecting popular celebrities as leads regardless of acting ability, influential film producer Kazuyoshi Okuyama stated at OIMF in 2013 that “the audience doesn’t even expect interesting movies anymore.”Veteran actress Kaori Momoi, who has preferred to work overseas in recent years, has also spoke openly about the decline of Japanese cinema, stating that “acting experience and education sometimes don't match and we see weird results.”“We don’t have companies here that are investing in developing overseas, that’s the problem,” said Momoi at OIMF in 2013. But just three years on, a new kid on block may have the answer.Netflix Japan launched its first original production at this year’s event, a TV series made together with the festival organizers Yoshimoto Kogyo, who happen to be the largest management company of comedians in the country. “HIBANA- Spark” focuses on Japanese manzai comedy, and stars popular actors Kento Hayashi and Kazuki Namioka.Greg Peters, Chief Streaming & Partnership Officer at Netflix, explained to reporters at the festival that he recognized the issues facing Japan’s TV and films industry’s and sees an opportunity to revolutionize the market.“I’ve always had a strong appreciation for the creativity that we see in Japan, mostly in manga, anime and smaller independent films that are made by true visionary creators that have room to do something interesting. You see it a little bit less so in the large scale productions here, but that’s what I think is exciting, to be able to define those creators and give them an opportunity to create at a bigger scale and find a bigger audience.”“HIBANA- Spark” is based on a novel by comedian Naoki Matayoshi won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize (Japan’s highest literary award). It broke records by selling 2.51 million copies, and the new 10-part TV series will be the first Japanese TV drama to be broadcast in 190 countries around the world at the same time this June.Netflix Japan was even able to attract A-list Japanese directors including Ryuichi Hiroki, Shuichi Okita and Kazuya Shiraishi to direct the episodes, which tell the story of aspiring comic Tokunaga (Kento Hayashi), who meets the established comedian Kamiya (Kazuki Namioka) at a fireworks event. The trajectory of the careers of each begins to move in opposite directions as one tutors the other.“It’s an extremely passionate story and it’s this question of why do people commit themselves to something that they love, despite all rational reasons why they shouldn’t. It gets really extreme, the level that these people will go to for this art they love,” says Peters.Netflix Japan doesn’t just aim to shake-up Japanese productions with original TV series and films though. It also plans to alter the audience’s access to works from around the globe. “We would like the [Japanese audience] to enjoy content at the same time that everyone else in the world, so no more waiting for weeks and months for a release. On the flip side we will work with content creators here so that they can tell their stories – ideally at a quality level that isn’t supported just by the domestic market – so that we can connect them to the global audience,” says Peters.“Partly that’s distribution, but it’s more than that too, it’s about recommending them to people who might not think about watching a Japanese drama or anime, because they haven’t seen one before. We may feel they will like it if we put it on front them, and if they have confidence in our recommendation system. [Then] they may try it out and fall in love with a new genre that they otherwise wouldn’t have had access to.”
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