Chie MIKAMI
Hanayo OYA
Boy Soldiers: The Secret War In Okinawa
沖縄スパイ戦史
Nippon Docs ¾
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.
沖縄スパイ戦史
Okinawa supai senshi
Japan 2018
114 minutes
Director
Chie MIKAMI, Hanayo OYA
Cinematography
Mamoru HIRATA
Production
Documentary Japan, Tofoo Films
World sales
Tofoo Films
About Chie MIKAMI
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.
About Hanayo OYA
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 been awarded multiple times for her documentaries about the history of Okinawa.