Usher in the spring & summer with our Keep Dancin’, Okinawa! series!
Keep Dancin’, Okinawa! is a celebration of Okinawan stories, culture, and history, highlighted through themes of dance, music, and perseverance. Featuring screenings of documentaries, a classic family comedy, short films, and special guests.
April—July, 2024 • The Japan Foundation, Toronto
All films presented in Japanese and/or Okinawan Dialects with English subtitles
Free Admission • In-Person Screenings • RSVP Required (register below!)
Remembering the Island of the Gods: Izaihō in Film, Memory, and History
Tuesday, July 30, 6:00PM (ET)
Join Dr. Christopher Nelson (University of North Carolina) for a unique look into 1960s Okinawa to help contextualize and better understand “Izaihō”—the great divine ritual of Kudaka Island of Okinawa, also known as the “Island of the Gods.”
This event includes the screening of the 1967 ethnographic documentary Izaihō from filmmaker NOMURA Gakuya, followed by a lecture and Q&A with Dr. Nelson.
Tales from Okinawa
Tuesday, July 9, 6:00PM (ET)
Various Directors • 59 min. (total) • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles
Tales from Okinawa is a short film program spotlighting emerging indie filmmakers from the Okinawa Islands. From agriculture, bullfighting, and coffee cultivation, these films will take you across Okinawa through the lens of their uplifting characters and their connection with nature.
Katabui, in the Heart of Okinawa カタブイ 沖縄に生きる
Virtual Screening: Friday, June 21, 5:59PM (ET) – Sunday, June 23, 11:59PM (ET)
Directed by Daniel López • 2016 • Documentary • 80 min. • Presented in French & Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer
Daniel López didn’t know anything about Okinawa. Seduced by these southern Japanese islands, once an independent kingdom, he left Switzerland to settle there. Ten years later, he shares his fondness for Okinawa but also his questioning on the archipelago’s identity threatened by the U.S. military presence and an excessive urban development. To understand the locals’ peaceful resistance, he takes us inside Okinawa on the path to discovering a local belief with inspirational scope.
Hotel Hibiscus
Saturday, May 25, 6:30PM (ET)
Directed by NAKAE Yuji • 2022 • Comedy / Family • 90 min. • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer
The unusual and international Nakasone family owns the small and cozy, if somewhat run-down, Hotel Hibiscus with only one room for rent. One summer, after her older sister and brother have left to begin new lives, little Mieko embarks on a magical journey to her cultural roots.
Director NAKAE Yuji in attendance for a Q&A conversation after the screening.
DownTown Dance 歌えマチグヮー
Tuesday, April 9, 6:00PM (ET)
Directed by NITTA Yoshitaka • 2012 • Documentary • 89 minutes • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer
DownTown Dance follows the passionate residents of a shopping district in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. Once a lively market thriving for over 60 years, the district has lost its energy over time. The documentary sheds light on the volunteers who strive to revitalize the market, using “music” as their main approach. In a time when the hollowing out of cities is being decried, the locals are fighting to restore urban vitality and to keep their district open. The market gradually comes to life with the Sakae-machi Market Night Stall Festival. At the centre of it all are the “Oba Rappers”, a trio of ladies who are leading the way in bringing music and dance to their town.
