Global Stage Hollywood 2025

From Friday, October 3, the Global Stage Hollywood Film Festival was held in Hollywood for three days.

This festival focuses on Japanese films and also features feature-length and short films from around the world, now in its seventh year.
This year featured films from Korea and Italy as well as Japan.

While the world is full of captivating stories, opportunities for global recognition remain limited.
By hosting the festival in Hollywood, organizers aim to give these films a platform to reach a wider international audience.

On opening day, actor Shofukutei Tsurube, star of the moving opening film The 35-Year Promise, walked the red carpet.

Also featured was veteran director Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s The Killer Goldfish, a wildly imaginative film about goldfish attacking humans.
The project represents a new, independent production model using crowdfunding to realize creative freedom.

After the screenings, directors, producers, and lead actors took part in a talk session that explored filmmaking from both creative and business perspectives.

Irvine Global Village Festival 2025

On Saturday, October 11, the Irvine Global Village Festival was held at the Great Park in Irvine.

Organized annually by the City of Irvine to promote mutual understanding among people of diverse cultural backgrounds, this year marked the 24th edition of the event.

The vast venue was divided into themed areas such as Food, Kids, and Culture, where visiting families enjoyed a variety of attractions and activities.

In the Culture area, local community groups from Asian regions such as Korea, Taiwan, and China, and from Middle Eastern regions including Iraq and Palestine, among others, set up booths to showcase their unique cultures.

The Japanese American community hosted an All-Japan booth, coordinated by the Japan Business Association of Southern California, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles, with support from volunteers.

The booth featured ikebana and origami workshops, kimono dressing experiences, and other cultural demonstrations.
The LA Nagasaki-kai also promoted the attractions of Nagasaki Prefecture.

On stage, amid performances representing cultures from around the world, OCO Kibou Taiko from Orange County delivered a powerful taiko drum performance.