In recent years, many regional governments in Japan have set up "film commissions" to help production crews shoot motion pictures and TV dramas in their neighborhoods, in the hopes of attracting tourists and revitalizing local communities.
In the case of one upcoming commercial film, however, citizens, businesses and officials of Ibaraki Prefecture have taken a step further in their united efforts to promote the community through cinema. Instead of just hosting a production crew there, they have been actively involved in various aspects of filmmaking, from the selection of a movie's theme, the director and the cast, to financing the project and mobilizing thousands of volunteers entirely from within the prefecture to work as extras or support staff.
The fruit of their labor will be unveiled in the film "Sakuradamongai no Hen" ("Sakurada Gate Incident"), which opens at 300 theaters nationwide on Oct. 16.
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