5th OKINAWA INTERNATIONAL MOVIE FESTIVAL

Even in bad weather the opening reception of the Okinawa Contents Bazaar at the Laguna Garden Hotel next to the main venue of the Okinawa Convention Center was a huge success. 

The Okinawa Contents Bazaar provides a platform where content and people from Asia can connect with the world.  Industry personnel are gathering to show entertainment content from Japan and around Asia, and using this opportunity to meet and discuss. By establishing the event and giving people the opportunity to meet we can see a new hub for the industry being formed in Okinawa. We could call this a new Asian Entertainment Gateway. The goal is to develop Asian entertainment and present it to the world.

The opening reception started with Takashi Fujii and Mai Satou as the emcees. They introduced on stage guests from China, Korea, Thailand and Taiwan who are participating in the bazaar.

Jeff Hasler, who is a producer, director, writer, and executive of a broadcasting station, and Pierre Brogan, who is in charge of TV producers and productions at the world-famous Creative Artists Agency (CAA), had a panel discussion about the latest developments in the broadcasting business in Hollywood with the popular TV actor and star of the drama “Heroes,” Masi Oka.

Topics discussed included how US cable television viewership is expanding radically, creating a difficult situation for the major terrestrial broadcasting companies. Cable broadcasters have an advantage because the number of households the reach is smaller and thus they can target their viewers more effectively. Major networks have to consider a wide variety of viewers, making their job more complex.

The participants pointed out that Asian entertainment is seeing more opportunity in the marketplace because viewers are looking for programs that speak to them directly and touch on things they can relate to. The panel discussion finished up noting that unique ideas and scenarios are important. Asian people don’t need to make American style programs, but rather should create content that focuses on the culture where it was born. American companies are looking to Asia, so opportunity is coming.