5th OKINAWA INTERNATIONAL MOVIE FESTIVAL

The talented team behind the charming coming-of-age tale from Taiwan, Cha Cha for Twins, appeared on stage to present their work to an appreciative audience. The director Jim Wang, lead actress Peijia Huang, and actor Oreo Ou Yang participated in a lively Q&A prior to the screening of the work in Theater 2 of the Okinawa Convention Center.

The story revolves around the coming-of-age of twins Poni and Mini, both played by Huang, and how they musy each establish a unique identity. Wang wrote the script based on personal experience. She is also a twin. The director observed on stage, “People are always in search for identity and this is film is about the process of that search.”

She also commented on how at home she felt in Okinawa, a beach locale not that different from her Taiwan home. “Taiwan is also an island nation surrounded by sea so it is comfortable for me to be here in Okinawa. It is unusual to have festival next to the sea so I’m enjoying it.”

Actress Peijia Huang also noted how happy she was to be in Okinawa. “When I was walking on the red carpet people welcomed me with smiles so I felt the warm atmosphere of Okinawa.” On a more serious note she noted how difficult her role in the film was,  “During the shoot I had to change from one character to the other in something like 10 minutes so this was a challenge.”

Actor Oreo Ou Yang played Mini’s love interest, a high school lad name Yogurt, and he had to relate to each twin differently. This process was aided by preparation. “Peijia and myself did rehearsals and created are characters together so I could tell the difference between Poni and Mini very well.”

In the film the twins struggle to remain close as they forge their own identities, and this universal theme struck a chord with the Japanese audience, who received the film enthusiastically.