Lights, Camera, Action!
Popcorn buckets filled, lights dimmed, and anticipation in the air – this wasn’t the latest Marvel movie release, it was the 2nd annual Mikan Film Fest! On Saturday January 31st the curtains opened on Ehime’s biggest community film event. Hosted by Ehime AJET, every film was submitted by JETs. From comedy, drama, thoughtful, to inspirational, there were a variety of themes on display. All were met with lots of interest from the roughly 35 attendees who showed up to both present, and support the amazingly creative films.
However, it wasn’t just pride these filmmakers were after. Just like the Oscar’s there were shiny awards and prizes up for grabs. The top three were best acting, best editing, and best story. The winners of these three were all chosen by Ehime’s very own Sigourney. This event would not have existed without her so it was an honor to have her judge this year’s batch of films. Still, the filmmakers had to impress the audience as well if they wanted the coveted “audience favorite” award.
As for the prizes, these were left to the raffle. Featuring a menagerie of Ehime themed items like Bari-san plushies, orange-flavored potato chips, and even Mikyan underwear, there was no shortage of desirable items to walk home with. However, there were two signature prizes you won’t find at an Ehime gift shop. These were two limited edition photo album books featuring pictures and notes from the creation of several studio ghibli films and kaiju films (like godzilla and ultraman). They were gracefully donated to the event by one of the set designers of the films featured in the books. We are extremely grateful to them for helping make the film fest even better.
Overall, the 2nd annual Mikan Film Fest was a resounding success. Throughout the two rounds of films and award ceremony that followed, everyone had an amazing experience sharing the love of film. Krystel, (one of the organizers of the event) said of the festival, “We couldn’t have held this event without everyone’s participation. A film festival with no films wouldn’t last long, and one without an audience wouldn’t amount to much. This year went amazingly thanks in full to the Ehime JETs who created submissions and who showed up to celebrate that hard work together!” The festival may be over, but the inspiration from these talented ALTs will last well into next year. We can’t wait for 2027 to see even more amazing films from our fellow JETs.
