Boy Soldiers: The Secret War In Okinawa
- Saturday, June 1, 19:30 Naxoshalle Kino
- 沖縄スパイ戦史
Okinawa supai senshi - Japan 2018, 114 min, Japanese with English subtitles
- Director: Chie MIKAMI, Hanayo OYA
- Production: Documentary Japan, Tofoo Films
- Camera: Mamoru HIRATA
- World sales: Tofoo Films
- European premiere in the presence of the director Hanayo OYA
- Competition Nippon Docs Award
Heralding the downfall of the Japanese military regime in 1945, the Battle of Okinawa has already been the topic of various documentary and fiction films. However, the history of the guerilla war, fought by Okinawan child soldiers under the command of Japanese officers, is still regarded as taboo. With an acute sense of urgency, this documentary depicts the inhumanity of militaristic ideologies.
Directors' Bio
Chie MIKAMI started out as a moderator for Mainichi Broadcasting System, before switching to Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting in Okinawa in 1995. There, she produced her own TV documentaries, which received numerous accolades. Her award-winning theatrical documentaries THE TARGETED VILLAGE (2013), WE SHALL OVERCOME (2015), and THE TARGETED ISLAND: A SHIELD AGAINST STORMS (2017) were shown at numerous festivals. She is also a lecturer on Okinawa Folkloristics at Okinawa International University. Hanayo OYA was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1987 and has been working for Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting since 2012, while also acting as an adjunct researcher at Waseda University’s Institute of Journalism. She has likewise been awarded multiple times for her documentaries about the history of Okinawa.