It is with great pleasure that I announce the commencement of the Okinawa International Movie Festival.

I would like to sincerely welcome every participant coming to this festival from Japan and beyond. “Mensoure Okinawa!” (Welcome to Okinawa!) Okinawa is blessed with a warm climate and rich natural environment, including our famous coral reefs. Since the Ryukyu Kingdom era, Okinawan culture and tradition have been promoting peaceful exchanges with other Asian countries.

The people of Okinawa have a generous supply of “laughter” and they have a passionate longing for peace. No other venue is more appropriate for Okinawa to host than this film festival under the theme of “Laugh & Peace”. This event will certainly be one of the new key attractions for Okinawa. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has helped and supported this event.

With the gathering of an assortment of internationally renowned films, individuals from the movie industry and movie fans can get together and network with one another. Therefore, I firmly believe that Okinawa will be engulfed in laughter and peaceful sentiments, and our enthusiasm will echo throughout the world. Participants of the 2009 Okinawa International Movie Festival, please enjoy the movies through this unique local event.

Okinawa provides an abundance of film materials and resources, and a supporting system for picture making has also been established in Okinawa. I hope you can learn more about the filmmaking potentials in Okinawa.

I pray for the success of the 2009 Okinawa International Movie Festival and I hope that you are always surrounded in laughter and peace.

Governor of Okinawa