On the 28th, actor Mizobata Junpei began filming 'Kimi ga Odoru, Natsu' (The Summer You Danced) at a bridge in Ochichou. Filming will take about 1 month in Kouchi city, including its shopping district. Tentative release of the movie is autumn of 2010.
The main character is a young man who aims of being a photographer in Tokyo. He joins the Yosakoi Festival to fulfill the dream of a young girl (Ayane Omori) with an incurable disease. Together with her older sister (Kinami Haruka), they revive the Yosakoi Team, breathing life into the festival. Through the Yosakoi Festival, themes surrounding dreams and reality, and life and death are explored.
There were about 70 people, including staff members on the first day of filming. When the rain stopped, a camera in the river filmed a scene of Mizobata cycling on a bridge. He stops in the middle, takes a seat and gives a worried look.
Mizobata said "I've been looking forward to the start of filming. To continue chasing your dream, while upholding local traditions, I want to convey the importance of them both."
The Kochi Film Commission is taking applications for 1000 extras for filming on the 16th and 17th October. Details can be found here.