jasongray

English-Subtitled Screening of "Magic Kimono" in Shibuya!

2017-08-21T21:57:00.002+09:00

I'm pleased to announce there will be an English-subtitled screening of the feature film I produced, Magic Kimono (Futari no Tabiji, ふたりの旅路) at Uplink in Shibuya this Thursday, August 24th at 8 p.m.

Please find relevant screening details and background on the film at Tokyo Filmgoer.

Year of the Sheep (in Wolf's Clothing)

2015-01-03T14:10:00.001+09:00

Dear decrepit blog; please forgive my neglect. But as a "weblog" entering its 16th year (!), a metabolic slowdown is to be expected. In 2014 there was not a single erection to be seen here -- the first year missed since 2000. I flushed Facebook a couple of years ago and don't miss it one pixel. Twitter continues to be my outlet of choice.

Last year was an eventful one offline. Loaded Films, the company I run with my wife Eiko (which does sport a Facebook page, admittedly), had a reasonably robust year. Two of the films I translated won prizes: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri's My Man took best film and actor at Moscow and Masaharu Take's 100 Yen Love best Japanese film at Tokyo fest. And two of the films we handled overseas PR for were also awarded: Ayumi Sakamoto's FORMA in Berlin and Hong Kong (great to go back), and Atsuko Hirayanagi's short film Oh Lucy! in Cannes and Toronto. Handling festival bookings/negotiations and print traffic for My Man and other titles has been illuminating. I love learning about all sides of the film business.

Other work highlights included: planning and line producing the Japan segments for documentary Why Horror?; translating the screenplay for SABU's latest film; and working to achieve the successful theatrical release of Rewind This! in Japan.

Hitting Toronto during the festival after some years was a great pleasure. Time with family and friends is irreplaceable, and TIFF 2014 marked my 25th year as an audience member. In a new initiative, the streets surrounding Bell Lightbox were closed to traffic in order to host all manner of events. You know you're truly attending a film festival when people line up for rush tickets to any film. If things ever become that participatory here, wake me up. On the job side, we had the good fortune to handle PR for some very strong titles: Shinya Tsukamoto's Fires on the Plain, Ryuichi Hiroki's Kabukicho Love Hotel, and Sion Sono's Tokyo Tribe. Tsukamoto-kantoku couldn't believe I had seen Tetsuo: The Iron Man on the big screen at TIFF in '89. All three directors were in good spirits and had fantastic screenings. Toronto audiences still rule!

My feature project, Where Wolves Fear to Prey, was selected to participate in Puchon's Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF), its second project market following Tokyo in the fall of 2013. NAFF/PiFan was a blast, and an extremely valuable industry event. Wolves is now with a new, experienced producer whose collaboration has really set the wheels in motion. I felt pretty sure the latest draft was the strongest thing I had ever written, but like most self-doubting creators, had no idea if others would respond. Thankfully, actors have been very enthusiastic -- a massive relief. Writing roles that actors would want to immerse themselves in was one of my chief aims. Our trip to Los Angeles (for the first time ever, unbelievably) was a high point of the year. More soon.

Following our mid-term goal of moving into production, we're also involved with another Japan co-prod. The director and (famous) Japanese lead actress have worked together twice before, but this looks to be their strongest collaboration yet. Hope to announce something in time for Berlin.

Friends who are based here or know Japan intimately also have some very interesting co-productions in the works. As I predicted in a magazine piece I wrote 5 or 6 years ago, this trend is gradually increasing in a market that can't thrive on domestic gains alone (unless you're Toho).

Here's to a 2015 that is anything but sheepish.

The Company of Wolves

2013-09-17T20:28:00.000+09:00

I had planned to update the blog once a season, but as fall encroaches on a brutally hot summer in Tokyo I now realise that was unrealistic. The plan was to leave the old blog up and running as a space for missives on items related and unrelated to my work under Loaded Films. Instead, I blurt things out on Twitter. After four years I still have an affinity for tweeting, though at just over 6000 tweets I'm tiring of my own voice. How people get up into the 20k~100k range I find difficult to fathom. So let me dust things off here with a few thoughts.

The last couple of years have been interesting. The simultaneous transition from freelance film work to running a company, with the steady move away from film journalism to focusing on my own projects has been mind-bending at times, but wholly positive. After seven good years and a combined total of approximately 500 online and print articles at Screen International I left this spring (a guest piece on Hayao Miyazaki's retirement earlier this month notwithstanding). There were also various articles for other magazines, newspapers, sites and books and a large amount of blogging throughout the noughties (all archived here in its ingloriousness). Add to that a decade of translation, whether subtitles, screenplays or other film materials, and I now realise what a writing machine I've been...

At some point a couple years ago I decided I had to cut back on that level of output or I'd never focus on my own creativity. That decision led to writing and directing Yukuharu, which is coming toward the end of a nice little international festival run in seven countries so far, finally having its Japan premiere last week at the Sapporo International Short Film Festival. There are three candidates for my sophomore effort, with one of them, entitled Homestay, looking the strongest. It's a wistful, even spiritual piece that takes place in Japan and overseas.

On the feature film front, I am very hard at work on the screenplay for a project entitled Where Wolves Fear to Prey, which takes its title from a fragment of a poem by Lord Byron called The Giaour. We are pleased to be partnered with accomplished French producers Franck Ribière and Vérane Frediani of La Ferme Productions (see August press release here). They have produced a number of startling genre films and dramas, with a strong track record of working with first-time feature directors like myself. Additionally, the project has been accepted to TIFFCOM CoPro Connection co-production market, taking place this October in Odaiba. The market has gotten a bit of coverage in the trades (Film Business Asia and my former haunt Screen). After having my name on the byline for years, I was glad to finally see it in an industry article. That had always been the goal since I picked up an impossibly thick Cannes bumper issue of Variety as a teenager.

Back to Where Wolves Fear to Prey. Partially based on a true case (which I've written about before on this very blog) Wolves is the story of a young man named Jeremy who feels his life has been ruined by the barbaric murder of his beloved older sister during his childhood. As an adult he journeys to Japan to take revenge on her killer, who was freed after a series of tragic technicalities. At its emotional core it's the story of a modest family living through the aftermath of an unforgettable crime. It questions the closure vengeance may or may not bring, the incessant gaze of the (tabloid) media, and the nature of communication between different languages. It's an ambitious story with a good number of characters and international locations but the through line is strong. The drama and dialogue offer a lot of meat for actors to chew on, I believe, and I look forward to seeing it come to life on set more than anything else. I already have actors in mind for both the Japanese and British roles. We'll see how many of them we get...

As with my previous feature screenplay effort, a Desperate Hours-type thriller entitled Secure, I wrote out the story of Wolves as a one-page synopsis and then a long form treatment. It's an arduous process to begin with but through many years of screenwriting I've come to the conclusion that I can't just stare at a blank script page without knowing where it's going. In lieu of the classic index card method, I simply cut & paste sequences or scenes around within the treatment. Having said that, once screenwriting proper begins, a lot changes and new ideas come to the fore. Even the ending changes. Nevertheless I need that initial skeleton, even if it's relegated to the closet later on (ahem). How do the rest of you craft your scripts?

Hope to update progress on Wolves and other projects sooner than later.

Happy New Year 2013! / Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

2013-01-01T13:12:00.001+09:00

A very Happy New Year to all my friends, family and film world fellows and femmes. All the best for 2013 -- the year of the snake! 本年もどうぞよろしくお願い申し上げます！

2012 was a banner year in many respects, with several firsts, but also a shambolic one. This year I will endeavor to laser focus my efforts to grow Loaded Films and go into production on my next short film (it's a doozy). There are a few other major goals but I'd rather announce them after they're reached!

I'm starting to sour on Facebook slightly (for personal use -- as a company portal it's useful). Twitter is still good. Should I finally check out Google+? Maybe I'll come back to posting here a little more often.

Adventures in the Japanese Film Business...

2012-11-10T09:37:00.000+09:00

It's been over half a year since I checked in here. I've been very busy with our little company, Loaded Films. It's going reasonably well. As we all know the Japanese film industry, and economy itself, is in a funk. But there's (finally) a growing awareness that international business isn't a just a "bonus" or "gravy" but a live-or-die situation for any company looking to do more than keep its head above water. Loaded Films is doing its small part to help companies -- some of them long time clients -- with more than just piece work, but rather a package of services that includes writing original copy, intuitive translation of all materials, festival consultation, and eventually accompanying the film overseas. Ensuring that these movies get watched and reviewed, that directors are interviewed and taken care of, and that everybody connected with the film is happy with its international life. Chipping away.

Loaded Films was also launched to develop projects in-house. Our first little production, Yukuharu, is doing better than I expected on its festival tour. News about its journey can be read on the company blog here, but that's not the place for personal reflection. Attending the film's world premiere at Fantasia International FF this summer was a turning point. Wearing a "Filmmaker" badge instead of the usual "Press" or "Guest" badge was a big leap. I wish I could fly to every subsequent screening to witness how the film's received. Luckily I do get feedback from both festival staff and audience members -- that's priceless. My only regret is that I waited far too long to get a film of my own done, but now that I have I'm fired up and forging ahead.

I have a second short in development now tentatively titled Kaiho Silver. If I can cast it and shoot it the way it plays in my mind, it should be a strong piece with a healthy festival life. Like Yukuharu it aims to convey emotional drama through a cinematic style. More surreal this time out. Following that all my energy will be put into a feature -- an international co-production. It's a fusion of crime and family drama that will bring together many things I've ruminated on over the years.

I still report for Screen International and will be helping with programming again at the New York Asian Film Festival/Japan Cuts in 2013, which I'm pleased about. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting but that feels about right for six months...

Trailer for Yukuharu

2012-05-18T08:41:00.000+09:00

I'm pleased to post the trailer for my short film Yukuharu. I wasn't planning on cutting a trailer originally as it's only a 13-minute film, but as I wait impatiently to make festival screening announcements I thought it would keep the momentum going a little. For more information on the film please see its page on the Loaded Films website.

Trailer for 4th Shinsedai Cinema Festival!

2012-05-12T01:07:00.001+09:00

Wanted to do a little to help spread the word to Japanese film fans in Toronto, or those who will be in Toronto this July, or are within reasonable driving or flying distance to Toronto. Unreasonable, too! You must attend the 4th edition of the Shinsedai Cinema Festival (July 12-15). Shinsedai is now based at Roncesvalles' wonderful, 100-year-old Revue Cinema (no worries, it was renovated in 2007) where I saw many films back in the day.

Take a look at the brand new trailer the festival has just released and try to deny you're not curious:

One of the titles at this year's edition (Dark on Dark) was even subtitled by our company Loaded Films (see LF blog entry about it here and previous posts about it on this blog here and there).

Lastly and most importantly, a special thanks to Shinsedai and tireless director Chris MaGee for the ongoing support for the Niji-Iro Cinema Support Project. Shinsedai helped raise money earlier this year at a special one-off screening and will do so again at the festival proper's offering of Ushihara Kiyohiko's 1938 chiller The Ghost Cat and The Mysterious Shamisen (Kaibyô Nazo no Shamisen, 『怪猫謎の三味線』). Just like people do in Japan, you'll be able to cool off with some cinematic horror during the summer heat.

Nippon Connection 2012 - Highlights Unveiled!

2012-03-12T16:15:00.002+09:00

Hot off the presses -- highlights from this year's Nippon Connection (May 2-6). Some great films already set to screen, with the full lineup to be announced at the end of this month.

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Press Release, March 12, 2012

Nippon Connection 2012 – Preview on the Festival Program

12th Japanese Film Festival, Frankfurt am Main, May 2 - 6, 2012

From May 2 to 6, 2012, Nippon Connection Film Festival, located in Frankfurt am Main, will present the whole spectrum of contemporary Japanese film for the twelfth time. Whether blockbuster or independent film, animation or documentary: numerous works will be presented as premieres with the film makers in attendance. The world’s largest festival of Japanese cinema invites its expected 16,000 visitors to enjoy its unique film program and to immerse into Japanese culture via workshops, lectures, discussions and other festival highlights.

One emphasis of this year’s festival will be film makers’ perspectives on the tsunami and nuclear crisis of March 2011, which has shaped not only Japan’s cultural life, but also views on this fascinating country. For example, Yoju MATSUBAYASHIs FUKUSHIMA: MEMORIES OF A LOST LANDSCAPE refers explicitly to the aftermath of the catastrophe. Immediately succeeding the incidents, he documented the situation in the evacuated zone and the individual fates of the residents. The emphasis on Fukushima will be supported by lectures in cooperation with the Department of Japanese Studies at Frankfurt University, as well as by an exhibition and a panel discussion.

Even though many Japanese film productions had to deal with a number of problems resulting from the triple catastrophe of March 11, 2011, Nippon Connection has managed to provide an annual collection of films that is exceptional in terms of diversity and quality. This year, above all, already established film makers were able to attract new attention: In KOTOKO, cult director Shinya TSUKAMOTO (TETSUO) tells the story of a single mother who is plagued by delusions and fights for the right to raise her young son. The film has already been awarded with the Orrizonti prize in Venice. After having elated Nippon Connection with his opening film THE CHEF OF SOUTH POLAR in 2010, Shuichi OKITAs star-studded comedy THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN is bound to achieve another hit in 2012. Lumberjack Katsuo, played by Koji YAKUSHO (SHALL WE DANCE, BABEL), is surprised by a film crew wanting to shoot a zombie film in his forest. Nippon Connection is also happy to reveal that cult director Takashi MIIKE is part of the festival again. His masterly drama HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI, shown in Cannes in 2011, is a stunning remake of the Samurai classic by Masaki KOBAYASHI. Nobohiro YAMASHITA hits a political note in his new film MY BACK PAGE and observes the protest movement among students in Japan between 1968 and 1972. In his expressive drama MONSTER’S CLUB, Toshiaki TOYADA, one of Japan’s most talented auteurs, portrays a loner managing to provide for himself in a log cabin and sending out letter bombs to industry magnates. TOYODA was inspired by the manifest of Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski.

In reference to the growing protest movement in Japan after March 11, 2011, this year’s retrospective in the cinema venue of the German Film Museum is called “Visual Resistance: protest culture in Japanese documentary film”. NIPPON RETRO takes a look back and raises the question how far a documentary film can reach out and at what point pictures start to become political. A SUMMER IN NARITA (1968) by Shinsuke OGAWA and MINAMATA - THE VICTIMS AND THEIR WORLD (1971) by Noriaki TSUCHIMOTO are works by two of the most important Japanese documentary film makers and attendants of the protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The contemporary documents of experimental film maker Motoharu JONOUCHI unfold a unique intensity by showing the student protests from the inside out. Some of the documentaries, like UNDERGROUND SQUARE by Keiya OUCHIDA, will be presented with subtitles for the first time.

At this year’s festival, films will compete against each other in three different contests: The NIPPON CINEMA AWARD, sponsored by Bankhaus Metzler, will be awarded to the audience’s favorite premiere of the Nippon Cinema section (prize money: 2,000 Euros). The Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy of Tokyo (JVTA) will donate the NIPPON VISIONS AWARD for the third time, which will go to an up-and-coming director based on the decision of an international jury of experts. The winner receives a free subtitling for the next film. The VGF NIPPON IN MOTION AWARD is new in 2012: In cooperation with Frankfurt’s transportation association VGF, short films with a maximum length of 12 seconds focusing on the topic “Nippon in Motion” will be awarded. The three winning entries will be shown on the info screens of the Frankfurt subway as of April 18, 2012. Between March 5 and 31, 2012, the spots can be voted for at www.nipponconnection.com; the best film will be awarded with 250 Euros.

In addition, the “16th Annual Movie Subtitling Contest” of the JVTA, starting March 16, 2012, will be presented during the festival (further information: www.alc.co.jp/jimaku/). The contestants will have to subtitle a clip of one of Nippon Connection’s films. Prior to the awarding of the winner in June, first results are going to be discussed in a workshop with translator, producer and actor Christian Storms.

Not only the film program will open up new perspectives on Japan and its people. At NIPPON CULTURE, one can experience Japan with all senses. In a live reading, underground icon Jörg Buttgereit will present his new audio drama “The Beast of Fukushima” with an acting ensemble-for the first time on a German stage. Another highlight is going to be visible to the visitors throughout the entire festival: performance artist Kodama KOZUE will create a giant painting during a five-day live painting event at the festival center.

Next to lectures and other events revolving around Japanese animation film and contemporary art, numerous workshops and presentations will be offered. Till Weingärtner will present a Japanese version of sophisticated stand-up-comedy. His Rakugo-performance has already been awarded in Japan. As in previous years, parties, concerts, a karaoke bar as well as the festival’s gaming den will guarantee great entertainment and long festival nights. Shiatsu massages offer relaxation while a variety of dishes from the Japanese cuisine will provide the visitors of Nippon Connection with culinary highlights.

In addition to the festival’s traditional program sections, NIPPON KIDS will be extended this year. In a cooking class, children between the ages of 6 and 12 are able to discover the types of food Japanese children take to school in so-called Bento-boxes. The childcare offers workshops in Origami as well as the opportunity to create an animated film. A film selection for children will of course also await the festival’s younger guests.

Nippon Connection Film Festival is under the patronage of Eva Kühne-Hörmann, Hessian Minister for Science and the Arts, Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, Vice President of the Goethe University Frankfurt, and the General Consulate of Japan in Frankfurt. The festival is organized on a voluntary basis by the 50-strong team of the non-profit association Nippon Connection e.V.

The complete program of the twelfth Japanese film festival Nippon Connection will be announced at the end of March on the festival’s website www.nipponconnection.com.

Locations:

Students’ House on Bockenheim Campus (Festival Center), Jügelstrasse 1, Frankfurt

Orfeo’s Erben Cinema, Hamburger Allee 45, Frankfurt

Cinema Venue of the German Film Museum, Schaumainkai 41, Frankfurt am Main

AusstellungsHalle 1A, Schulstrasse 1a, Frankfurt

Kunstraum Westend, Beethovenstrasse 35, Frankfurt

Official Launch of Loaded Films Ltd.

2012-01-25T15:02:00.011+09:00

I'm very pleased to announce the official launch of Loaded Films Ltd. Loaded Films represents the culmination of a decade of freelance work in the Japanese film industry and the hub for all future activities we undertake. We're continuing our work in translation and consultation and further branching out into production, beginning with my short film Yukuharu, now in the final phase of post.

Eiko Mizuno Gray takes on the role of company president while I serve as vice president and creative producer. We'll be working hard to maintain our relationships with existing clients and collaborators as well as expanding our network. We look forward to working with all of you!

有限会社ローデッド・フィルムズの公式HPが立ち上がりました。引き続き、映画関連の翻訳業務やコンサルティング業務に加え、インディペンデントな映画製作も開始いたしました。第一弾作品は、ジェイソン・グレイ監督の短編「Yukuharu」です。

弊社の業務内容をHPでご確認いただければ幸いに存じます。
今後とも真摯に業務に取り組んでまいりますので、何卒宜しくお願い致します。

Eiko Mizuno Gray
Jason Gray

Happy New Year! / Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001+09:00

A very Happy New Year to all my friends, family and film world fellows and femmes. All the best for 2012 -- the year of the dragon! 本年もどうぞよろしくお願い申し上げます！

2011 was a hell of a year in Japan, in all senses of the word. The mix of natural disaster devastation, nuclear fears, rallying spirit, public outrage, government shakeups, massive corporate malfeasance and yakuza crackdowns was heady. Led by my wife's strong spirit of volunteering we became inaugural members of Niji-Iro Cinema (official site (J), fundraising blog). I probably feel more attached to Japan than I ever have...

Personally I got back into writing and filmmaking, with the final touches being made on my short film Yukuharu and the festival submission process underway. Yukuharu also marks the first in-house production for our new company, Loaded Films Ltd. The company officially culminates of all our freelance film work over the past ten years and will be the force behind its future evolution. Look for the Loaded Films company website very soon. In the meantime you can check out the integrated English news blog portion here. There are already some exciting developments in the works.

As for this blog, it was stopped dead in its tracks by my focus on Yukuharu and a fall festival season packed with four events in a row, including jobs in Busan and the fantastic city of Tallinn, Estonia (see aforementioned blog). Aside from fairly constant Twitter and Facebook posts I may go back to using this space for longer missives on films or other things that don't "fit" those SNS or Loaded Films news.

Until next time, all the best!

Two Looks for Takashi Shimizu's Rabbit Horror 3D / Tormented

2011-08-30T19:21:00.004+09:00

Two very different visual campaigns for Shimizu Takashi's upcoming psychological scarefest Rabbit Horror 3D (『ラビット・ホラー3D』), also known by the more generic export title Tormented.

The image on the right is sales agent Fortissimo Films' key visual for the film's Venice (Aug 31-Sept 10) and Sitges (Oct 6-16) one-two punch.

Between those two international fest dates the film receives its domestic release here in Japan on September 17th by Phantom Film.

Which style do you prefer?

A friend who worked on the set for the whole shoot said Tormented far surpasses The Shock Labyrinth 3D both as a film and in terms of the use of 3D (much "smarter" in this case). With an undeniably strong cast, he says it's a well crafted and acted psychological family drama with both fantasy and scare elements, but that hardcore horror fans expecting Ju-On redux might be disappointed. Looking forward to it.

Editing Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring

2011-08-14T15:38:00.002+09:00

As it swelters outside (and I try to be frugal with the A/C inside) I'm holed up with my short film Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring (see my August 4th entry).

I'm cutting the film on an older Intel iMac with Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium and a phenomenal support utility called PluralEyes that syncs multiple sound sources automatically. So far everything is progressing smoothly, which enables me to get into "the zone". In the 90s that zone was sitting in a closet-sized editing suite with 16mm film hanging all around me and obsessing over single frames. I still do that, but without the whirring Steenbeck and clunking splicer.

Until around 2007 -- the last time I really shot and cut anything of note -- I had always been a Final Cut Pro person. However, after several discussions with my talented and highly-knowledgeable cinematographer Paul Leeming, I see now that Premiere (and its native integration with CS) has surpassed FCP in many respects. Not the mention the backlash against FCP X (dissed by some as "iMovie Pro"), which can't even open older FCP project files, while Premiere can.

Back to cutting. Hope to post some official high-res stills by the end of this month.

Hard Romanticker - Shota Matsuda Goes Gangster

2011-08-14T15:30:00.001+09:00

Just a brief post on a movie I recently subtitled for Toei studios entitled Hard Romanticker (『ハードロマンチッカー』). There's no official site yet but Toei has a release page for it. When I translated the press notes it had been slated for an early spring 2012 release but has now been pushed forward to November 26.

The film is directed by Japan-born Korean Gu Su-yeon, whose last feature was The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi (『THE 焼肉 MOVIE プルコギ』), starring Matsuda Ryûhei. Hard Romanticker's cast is led by Ryûhei's younger brother Shôta, whom you know from Ikigami or TV drama/movie franchises Liar Game and Boys Over Flowers. Or if you're more kuwashii about your Japanese cinema, you may have seen him in Ômori Tatsushi's dark indie effort A Crowd of Three (Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni,『ケンタとジュンとカヨちゃんの国』) which had its world premiere at TOKYO FILMeX in 2009.

Hard Romanticker is based on Gu's semi-autobiographical eponymous novel published in 2001 by Kadokawa Haruki's imprint. With his hair dyed platinum blonde, Matsuda stars as "Gu," a second-generation Korean living life as a high school dropout working part-time jobs and getting into violent conflicts on the streets of Shimonoseki. A brutal act of revenge gone wrong sets the story in motion. Gu is tangentially involved at best, but with his paradoxical mix of guilt, cold detachment and violent nihilism he pisses off one too many people and ends up a target of the whole town.

Shimonoseki (Yamaguchi prefecture) is of course the birthplace of legendary Japanese film star Matsuda Yûsaku, daddy of both aforementioned Matsuda brothers and himself of half-Korean ancestry (see Midnight Eye's feature: Yusaku Matsuda: Lost Rebel). The project is going for synergy with the Matsuda name, its rebellious protagonist, the zainichi angle and the location (there's also a sojourn over the bridge to the blingy Kokura district of Kitakyûshû).

Toei Animation excepted, some feel Toei studios proper has lost its identity over the years. They're hoping to regain some of their old-school mojo with Hard Romanticker and future projects. I'll let the paid and pro-am film critics have the last word but I think Hard Romanticker is a fairly cool Mean Streets-like film for the current generation here.

Hard Romanticker features a large cast of juvenile delinquents played by Nagayama Kento, Emoto Tokio, Watabe Gôta, Kawano Naoki, Ochiai Tomoki, Endô Yûya, Kaneko Nobuaki, Ishigaki Yuma and Endô Kaname. Bringing a dose of adult reality to the film are Maki Claude (good to see him again), Watanabe Dai, Ashina Sei, Maki Yôko, Nakamura Shidô, Watabe Atsurô (amusing), Hakuryu and super-veteran Awaji Keiko (her debut was Kurosawa's Stray Dog!).

The "Niji-Iro 'Rainbow' Cinema Support Project"

2011-08-09T01:39:00.006+09:00

If you've been following me on Twitter or Facebook (my personal page and/or Loaded Films) over the past few months you know I've mentioned "Niji-Iro Cinema" (にじいろシネマ) on many occasions. Niji-Iro (literally "Rainbow-coloured") Cinema is a non-profit organization that screens free movies for survivors of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit Japan this March and remains an ongoing catastrophe to this day.

Niji-Iro Cinema was founded by Saitama-based home theater company Budscene this April. My wife Eiko Mizuno Gray was the first member to join the team, followed by several other core members from the world of film. Thus far, there have been approximately fifteen Niji-Iro Cinema events across Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures (Iwate is being planned). Strong distributor support from the likes of 20th Century Fox, Asmik Ace, Universal Pictures, Shochiku and Toei Video has enabled a growing library of titles as well as t-shirts and other goods.

Niji-Iro Cinema's screenings of both Hollywood and Japanese movies come complete with free popcorn made in old-school cinema popcorn machines. When possible, hot food and cold ice cream have also been provided between screenings.

Budscene made a sizable outlay in the early days to get the ball rolling, but luckily the costs of transportation up to Tohoku are now subsidized and accommodations are managed by the Niji-Iro team at each location. What we're now trying to raise money for is food. To put it another way, we want to hire food providers as a means to give back to a region where jobs are very scarce.

If you take a look at the right-hand side of the blog you'll see a widget for the "Niji-Iro 'Rainbow' Cinema Support Project" IndieGoGo campaign. There, you can find out everything you need to know about what Niji-Iro Cinema is, how the money will be used and how contributors will feel the direct, positive impact they've made. To reiterate, the Niji-Iro Cinema screenings will continue on as they have since April. This is a related support campaign focused specifically on food, drinks and other items we'd love to offer kids and everyone else who attends.

Thanks for reading and please spread the word!

"Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring" Principal Photography Complete

2011-08-04T08:31:00.002+09:00

It's been quite a while since I've touched the blog. I'd been in pre-production on my short film Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring (『行く春』). That was interspersed with doing my small part for Niji-Iro Cinema (a non-profit initiative that screens movies for disaster survivors across Tohoku), a bit of work for Screen and subtitle translation for a new Toei crime drama entitled Hard Romanticker (『ハードロマンチッカー』).

I'm happy to announce that principal photography on Yukuharu was completed this past weekend and it went very, very well. There was quite a lot of filming packed into two days but our cast and crew were fantastic. It had been over 10 years since I was behind a camera directing narrative -- it was a thrill to see the words on the page of my screenplay come to life. As I tweeted a couple of days ago "We captured Amazing images, performances, sounds and moments of humanity."

As I enter post-production I will be posting credits and more info about the film, as well as images. As Yukuharu was the first film produced under the Loaded Films Ltd. banner (our little company established earlier this year - see our Facebook page) there should be some kind of Yukuharu subsite under the official Loaded Films website when that's up and running. I also posted regular updates on the film's IndieGoGo project page. Another thank you to those who contributed.

More updates soon!

Makoto Ohtake's "Dark on Dark" to Screen at New York Asian Film Festival

2011-06-01T10:22:00.008+09:00

This year's lineup for the New York Asian Film Festival (July 1-14) has been unveiled, and quite a selection it is. The full press release should be up on the official site very soon (Edit: all you need to know is now at the preceding link) but until then Mubi.com has a rundown of all the titles with (internal) links to info on each film and director. If you want to know which guests will be making the trip to NYC and all the gory details you can read the full text-only press release here.

The list includes Japanese titles that are being co-presented with Japan Society's Japan Cuts festival (July 7-22), which will announce its own full lineup imminently. In short, NYC will be offering a tokumori portion of Japanese film content for more than three weeks this July. Even living in Tokyo, I feel left out. And there are overflowing platters of Korean, Hong Kong, Chinese, Taiwanese and Southeast Asian cinema, too.

I wanted to mention that Ohtake Makoto's short film Dark on Dark - which I translated almost a year ago - will have its international premiere. NYAFF programmer and friend Marc Walkow saw the film earlier this year and good-naturedly berated me for not telling him about it previously. So, I put the right people in touch and voilà. It's always gratifying when I can go beyond just translation and help get good films seen by overseas audiences. Dark on Dark is some of the most curious, fleshiest 17 minutes you'll ever experience. It screens before Tsugita Jun's Horny House of Horror (Fashion Hell, 『ファション・ヘル』).

Matsumoto Takes Center Stage at Locarno

2011-05-31T13:17:00.002+09:00

Yesterday, the Locarno International Film Festival (Festival del Film Locarno) announced that it will be screening the international premiere of Matsumoto Hitoshi's Saya-zamurai (『さや侍』) this August, following the film's Japanese bow on June 11. There will also be a spotlight on Matsumoto himself, with his previous two feature films given another airing.

Here's the press release:

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30.05.2011 Tribute to Hitoshi Matsumoto
The 64th Festival del film Locarno will host the international premiere in Piazza Grande of Scabbard Samurai (Saya-zamurai), the latest feature from Japanese filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto.

Hitoshi Matsumoto on the set of Scabbard Samurai

The film, starring newcomer Takaaki Nomi and Jun Kunimura (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), is produced by Yoshimoto Kogyo, Kyoraku Sangyo and Phantom Film, and goes on theatrical release in Japan next June 11.

Highlighting the occasion of the premiere, Festival del film Locarno will pay tribute to Hitoshi Matsumoto with screenings of the director’s two other features to date, Big Man Japan (Dai-Nipponjin, 2007) and Symbol (Shinboru, 2009).

As Olivier Père, Artistic Director at Locarno, puts it, «from a background in television, in which his shows and personality have achieved immense popularity in Japan, Matsumoto has come to cinema and, in only three full-length features to date, has invented and experimented with new forms of comic fiction. Highly original, shifting between burlesque, surrealism and popular genres, his new ideas have proved capable of surprising and delighting even the most blasé of audiences. This is one of the main revelations in contemporary cinema over the past few years, and we are pleased to be able to celebrate in Locarno the work of a remarkable artist and his extraordinary comedy and imagination».

A national celebrity in his home country as a television comedian, Hitoshi Matsumoto began his directing career in 2007 with Big Man Japan. The film went on from a Directors’ Fortnight premiere in Cannes to garner widespread acclaim, achieving record box office success in Japan. Matsumoto followed it up in 2009 with Symbol, which was presented at a number of international festivals, including Toronto, Busan and Rotterdam.
The 64th Festival del film Locarno will be held from August 3 to 13, 2011.

-----

As you can see, the film's been given the export title Scabbard Samurai, which is a literal translation. They could've come up with something more evocative in my opinion, but there it is.

I wrote at some length about my admiration for Scabbard Samurai last month after seeing a press screening. When I tweeted back on April 26 about a potential festival slot after Cannes, it was Locarno I was referring to.

I had somewhat lamented the fact that Cannes went for a remake (Miike's Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai) instead of a completely original effort like Matsumoto's -- in retrospect it seems the latter would've gotten stronger critical notices. But now Matsumoto's latest film and his growing body of work will, in a way, get more attention in its Locarno setting than it would've amidst the large (and quite strong) playing field on the Croisette this year.

Looking forward to live reports later this summer.

Best Copy Printing - Al-Qaeda Did My Bootleg Video Jackets

2011-05-03T22:46:00.009+09:00

With the killing of Osama bin Laden saturating the news, my mind has drifted back to the September 11 attacks. I'm also recalling a 9/11-related anecdote with origins a few years prior to that.

My Toronto brothers and I were big collectors of obscure cult and foreign films in the 80s and 90s. Before DVD, it was all about VHS (and later laserdiscs). Friends such as Olympic ski coach Dennis Capicik, Toronto film festival vet Colin Geddes, spaghetti western king Mike Ferguson, Canadian DVD industry honcho John Theodorou, Erik Sulev, special makeup FX guy Cameron Scholes and Steve Fentone all outdid me in terms of encyclopedic knowledge and video hoardes. Nonetheless, I was part of the gang and published 10 issues of a pretty successful fanzine called Sub-Terrenea (sic). If you've ever wondered how Toronto has given birth to cult movie institutions like Twitch Film, Midnight Madness and Rue Morgue to name a few, it's because the fans are some of the most voracious in the world.

A big part of fandom was bootlegging. In the pre-internet days that was done through personal connections, mailing lists and conventions. If we could've bought the movies we would've, but many of them simply didn't exist in a commercial format in North America, or anywhere. We certainly purchased massive amounts of legitimate new and used releases. But if you wanted to watch Goodbye Uncle Tom in English you needed a copy from the Greek release. The 137m version of Dawn of the Dead? A telecine of the 16mm print. Obscure kung fu titles? That would be recordings of late-night TV broadcasts.

When colour photocopiers made a quantum leap in the 90s (leading some to almost get away with printing counterfeit money) it was a boon to bootleggers who wanted a spiffy box for their cassette. At that time the machines were not self-serve and it wasn't uncommon for a shop to refuse customers who wanted to duplicate copywritten material.

One shop that couldn't have cared less and had all the latest equipment was Best Copy Printing on Charles St. in the heart of Toronto. It was run by Middle Eastern men in their 30s and 40s. They were always polite and would copy anything we wanted, including jackets for sexually explicit Eurotrash. They were happy to take our money and get us out of there as quickly as possible so they could get back to their work. My friend Dennis and I thought something was odd about the place but couldn't put our fingers on it. What was obvious was that despite a paucity of patrons these peculiar printers were busy as hell at all hours of the day.

The nature of the place came into starker relief when I got my own job at a print shop walking distance away, but with an altogether different clinetele. We did high end business stationary, brochures and sold an unrivaled selection of paper and card stock (washi was too pricey to import, though). When there was no work to do there was a fair amount of standing around and calling girlfriends.

If we were in a pinch for Canon colour toner cartridges I'd head on over to Best Copy and they'd happily sell me some. As always, the little shop's machines were working away. Orders were boxed up. Men would drift in and out, greeting each other in Arabic.

On another movie tangent, this was around the time I started designing and co-editing the book "AntiCristo: The Bible of Nasty Nun Sinema & Culture", written by old cohort Steve Fentone. It was eventually published in 2000. It's long out of print and will likely never see a second edition. I see it now commands several hundred dollars for a used copy alone.

In 1998 I departed for Japan, leaving Toronto and the printing biz behind.

Fast forward to September 2001. I'm back in Toronto for the film festival when the planes hit the World Trade Center. Not long after the attacks Canadian links to the terrorist cell that brought down the Twin Towers made the news. Best Copy Printing was apparently connected to Islamic extremists and Al-Qaeda itself. An RCMP investigation dubbed "Project O Canada" discovered Best Copy had been churning out fake IDs and Canadian immigration forms. Paper stock, ink and laminates left behind by the nineteen 9/11 hijackers closely matched the supplies the busy bodies at Best Copy were using. According to witnesses, ringleader Mohammed Atta frequented, and even worked at Best Copy in the spring of 2001. The store is still visible on Google street view Toronto, so I assume it remained open under the same name until quite recently.

As many in the world wait for a photo confirming the terrorist mastermind's death, a foggy image of an Osama bin Laden portrait on the walls of Best Copy (later found by authorities) comes to mind. But I can't be sure...

Japan's Next Great Director - Hitoshi Matsumoto's "Saya-zamurai"

2011-04-30T23:11:00.001+09:00

It goes without saying that there's been a lot of upheaval in Japan this spring. This part of the country is beginning to normalize, but full recovery in Tôhoku will take years. On a personal front I've been simultaneously waylaid and kept occupied, with a considerable amount of freelance work including subtitles, a screenplay polish, and a Japan Cannes special for Screen. My film viewing has been spotty at best. Other than five or six titles at the Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF) I've only seen a handful of films since March.

I did, however, make sure I caught a press screening of Saya-zamurai (『さや侍』) at Shochiku HQ in Higashi-Ginza on Thursday. This is the third directorial effort by famed comedian Matsumoto Hitoshi (松本人志), who previously gave us Dai Nipponjin and Symbol. Once again, Matsumoto's film is produced by powerful talent agency Yoshimoto Kôgyô, which he's belonged to for almost 30 years (they also run the aforementioned OIMF).

Potential mild spoilers follow.

For those who don't partake in the Tweetverse, following are some blurbs of mine related to the screening:

Saya-zamurai is BRILLIANT. Madness it didn't get a shot at Palme d'Or glory. Matsumoto was a very creative director, but now he is an Artist

『さや侍』は素晴らしい作品です！期待をはるかに超えました。松本監督が今から国際的に認知されるんじゃない。北野のレベルで。
(translation: "Saya-zamurai is magnificent! It far exceeded my expectations. I think it will gain Matsumoto international attention at the level of Kitano.")

@hori_naka マジですよ！映画鑑賞中、10年に1～2回しか泣かない。この作品はその中の一本で～す。
(translation: "I only cry at movies around once or twice a decade. This is one of those times.")

@hori_naka Yes, kooky Nomi Takaaki - 働くおっさん - will make people everywhere cry. And samurai movie lovers will die!

Some brief background on the film: Nomi Takaaki (野見隆明) plays samurai and local "water level adjuster" Nomi Kanjûrô. We meet Nomi during a desperate escape through the woods from some unseen conflict. After collapsing in exhaustion his little daughter Tae (Kumada Sea) catches up to him and we realize Nomi has thrown away his sword out of refusal to fight, leaving only its scabbard ("saya") at his hip. Going rônin violates the laws of the land and there's soon a price out on Nomi's head. Now on the lam, Nomi suffers Tae's relentless chastising ("You call yourself a samurai?") and attempts to kill him by a trio of bumbling assassins (Ryô, ROLLY and Fukkin Zennosuke) in taciturn shame. He's soon arrested and presented to an eccentric lord (Kunimura Jun) who offers Nomi a way to clear his name: The boy prince has lost the ability to smile since the death of his mother and Nomi has exactly 30 days to bring that smile back or he must commit seppuku. No man has succeeded in the feat thus far, and so begins the battle of, and for, Nomi's life...

Making his big screen debut, Nomi Takaaki is a real-life oddball who has worked as a chef, a seller of paintings, and currently a bartender in Golden Gai (right next to Yoshimoto's Tokyo HQ). He's appeared numerous times on Matsumoto's comedy shows since 2003, including Hataraku Ossan Gekijô (something like "Working Stiff Theater"), which was broadcast from 2006-2007. Here is a video of Nomi's first appearance. It's in Japanese but you'll quickly get a sense of what he's like. It's not an act.

When I heard the concept behind Saya-zamurai, and even while watching the film, there was a tinge of cruelty in the idea of putting this hopelessly awkward man in his 50s through such outrageous physical humiliations -- everything from being thrown from an elaborate mechanical rodeo horse, to snorting udon noodles, to being shot out of a cannon into the sea. But when Nomi's pièce de résistance arrives, the true samurai spirit of this film bursts to the fore. It's no accident that Matsumoto gave his protagonist the same family name.

Kumada Sea, who plays Tae, deserves a huge amount of praise. At all of 9 years old (and looking even younger) she plays an incredibly strong female character who commands the screen on many occasions. Her range outdoes most of her adult contemporaries. I'll be shocked and disappointed if she isn't nominated for best actress laurels (and a lock on a "best newcomer" Japan Academy Prize).

I don't know how audiences or critics will receive the film, but I was floored. I was floored because everything that came before the end built up to it in an atypical way. There was a cumulative effect that worked almost subconsciously. And yet it's all there in Matsumoto's expertly written screenplay. Those who dug the helpings of WTF in Dai Nipponjin and Symbol may be disappointed in Saya-zamurai's more orthodox narrative. For me, it distills Matsumoto's deeply developed comedy sense, humiliation and all, anchored by a father-daughter story that may not have been possible for him to depict before having a little girl of his own (born just after Symbol was completed). In only three films, self-confessed movie geek Matsumoto has achieved a coalescing of ideas and aesthetics in the way Kitano did with Hana-bi.

Yoshimoto told me how disappointed they were that Saya-zamurai didn't get into Cannes. I can clearly see why they were pinning their hopes on it. Perhaps "two samurai films" was too much for the competition there, but original work (which all of Matsumoto's films have been) should trump remakes or adaptations in my opinion.

In summary, Matsumoto has taken a major step forward with Saya-zamurai. There is still plenty of the playful (and highly imaginative) goofiness found in his other work, but here it's such an integral part of a story that builds to an unexpected emotional wallop.

Looking forward to hearing other views.

Poster for Pink Film Musical "Underwater Love"

2011-04-15T20:29:00.004+09:00

Press Release From Rapid Eye Movies:

Dear kappa-friends (and those to be),

An offbeat joint venture: From Germany’s Rapid Eye Movies and Japan’s Kokuei Company comes a whimsical pink film musical about a woman and a sea creature. Directed by pink-film veteran Shinji IMAOKA (Lunch Box, Frog Song), shot by Christopher Doyle the famed cinematographer behind Hero and countless films by Wong Kar Wai and with music by Germany’s Stereo Total, UNDERWATER LOVE - A PINK MUSICAL promises to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
UNDERWATER LOVE - A PINK MUSICAL was shot in 5 days, one take only.

UNDERWATER LOVE - A PINK MUSICAL will have its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on Friday 22nd, 2011 in New York!
Thereafter it will be screended at Udine's Far East Film Festival and then as a market premiere in Cannes. International sales is handled by Films Boutique.

UNDERWATER LOVE - A PINK MUSICAL
a film by Shinji IMAOKA
Japan/Germany 2011, 87 min.

Story:
Asuka works in a lakeside fish factory. She is just about to be married to her boss. One day, she encounters a Kappa, a water creature living in the lake and learns that it is the reincarnation of Aoki, her first love.
What ensues is a zany spectacle of love, music and sex.

I visited the set of Underwater Love - A Pink Musical (Onna no Kappa, 『おんなの河童』) last summer. In case you missed it, here is my set report.

See previous Underwater Love posts here and there.

"Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring" Sample Image

2011-04-08T11:40:00.007+09:00

Yesterday my cinematographer Paul Leeming and I shot some preliminary/B-roll footage, sans actors, during the height of cherry blossom season here in Tokyo. The above image is a frame grab from the footage, which Paul put through a quick post process based on what we discussed in terms of the film's look in the flashback images. The learning curve from my 16mm and MiniDV days has been steep but Paul is a stone cold expert at explaining the pros and cons of various formats, how to get the most out of what you shoot and using the right tools to achieve what you want.

This initial work has me excited about moving onto the main shoot next month.

Edit: I've noticed just recently that the compression on Photobucket images has gotten much worse. Won't be using it anymore -- trying Tinypic as an alternative until I sort some webspace. Any other hosting suggestions that don't compress?

Contribution to "World Film Locations: Tokyo"

2011-04-06T13:05:00.005+09:00

I've contributed a few pieces of writing to an upcoming book on Japanese cinema entitled "World Film Locations: Tokyo," which will be published this July. It's the latest volume in a series that examines cities through their portrayal in movies. Here is the press blurb from UK publisher Intellect Books:

World Film Locations: Tokyo gives readers a kaleidoscopic view of one of the world’s most complex and exciting cities through the lens of world cinema. 50 scenes from classic and contemporary films explore how motion pictures have shaped the role of Tokyo in our collective consciousness, as well as how these cinematic moments reveal aspects of the life and culture of a city that are often hidden from view. Complimenting these scenes from such varied films as Tokyo Story, You Only Live Twice, Godzilla and Enter the Void are six spotlight essays that take us from the wooden streets of pre-19th century Edo to the sprawling “what-if” megalopolis of science fiction anime. Illustrated throughout with dynamic screen captures World Film Locations: Tokyo is at once a guided tour of Japan’s capital conducted by the likes of Akira Kurosawa, Samuel Fuller, Chris Marker and Sofia Coppola while also being an indispensible record of how Tokyo has fired both the imaginations of individuals working behind the camera and those of us sitting transfixed in movie theatres.

I wrote about the depiction of Tokyo in three films: Hiroki Ryûichi's It's Only Talk, Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Tokyo Sonata and Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void (Hard to pick one review for this beast. Suggestions?). Illustrated with full-colour frame grabs throughout and edited by Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow's Chris Magee "World Film Locations: Tokyo" should be a decent addition to any Japanese film fan's bookshelf.

"World Film Locations: Tokyo" is currently available for pre-order on many book selling sites, including Amazon (US, UK, Japan).

Watch Japanese Movies in Hong Kong & Toronto and Help Japan!

2011-03-19T16:38:00.002+09:00

I'd like to bring attention to another film-related fundraising effort, co-ordinated by pictures dept. president Shiomaki Yûko (汐巻裕子), who's been one of the most active Japanese film industry figures on the international scene for years.

Her campaign, entitled "Support Japan - GAMBARE," is being run through fundraising site JustGiving Japan. You can of course contribute directly through the website by credit card (instructions in English, Chinese and French).

Or (or even better, And) if you happen to be in Hong Kong next week, you can attend a 35mm screening of Masaaki Taniguchi's Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shôjo)『時をかける少女』 ), with proceeds going to the campaign. This has been arranged with the film's Hong Kong distributor Panorama Entertainment. One of the many reviews for the film here (Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow).

Screening Date: Thursday 24th March at 12:00 (121min)
Screening Venue: Agnes B Cinema, Hong Kong Art Center
*Note: screening will be in Japanese with Chinese subtitles

Additionally, pictures dept. in cooperation with Chris MaGee of the aforementioned J-Film Pow-Wow are arranging a Toronto fundraising screening of J-film fan favourite Fine, Totally Fine (Zenzen Daijôbu, 『全然大丈夫』) (see my Dec 16 2007 entry). Details soon.

As a cherry on top, the campaign is endorsed by director Sono Shion, whom pictures dept. worked with on his latest film Guilty of Romance (Koi no Tsumi, 『恋の罪』). So you better listen! Yûko's initiative also got a mention in this article by Mark Schilling for The Japan Times.

You can download a PDF of the full press release here (日本語のプレスリリース)

The campaign is part of a larger effort to raise money for the Civic Force (日本語).

What has the Civic Force done for the disaster so far? Here is a paragraph from the English page on their site which explains it in a nutshell:

Civic Force, Japan's leading NGO in disaster response and relief, dispatched the helicopter-emergency teams immediately to the field to grasp the situation and delivered first rescue goods. Civic Force was the first rescue NGO on the ground. Based on the survey, we identified the most affected and vulnerable area and started to help people.

It must be said that while the nuclear threat is dominating the media (and creating unwarranted panic), there are survivors of the initial quake and tsunami who are still at great risk and unfortunately dying. The Civic Force will help combat that devastating reality.

Please Donate to Help Rebuild Japan

2011-03-13T13:15:00.005+09:00

As I write this on a quiet, sunny Sunday in northwest Tokyo, other parts of the country are in complete ruins. My adopted country of almost 11 years - a place I now consider home - has been devastated. Watching and reading about tragedy after tragedy has been exhausting. People's lives have been swept away in tsunamis, crushed under tons of debris, and now irradiated by damaged nuclear power plants. There are conflicting reports on how far radiation particles may reach, and to what levels.

The official magnitude of Friday's earthquake has been upgraded to 9 and the chance of a magnitude-7 aftershock is currently at a worrying 70%. The death toll is sure to climb into untold thousands. It's a nightmare. A nightmare now known alternatively as "The 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami" / literally "Tōhoku region Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake" (Tôhoku Chihô Taiheiyô Jishin) 「東北地方太平洋沖地震」) or "The Great East(ern) Japan Earthquake" (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai「東日本大震災」).

There are several articles a minute being published by media outlets across the world (in the English language alone). You can find them through Google News' stream here.

But the resilience of people in this country is legendary. A microcosm of this: a 60-year-old man adrift on top of his house in the ocean 15km off Futabachô, Fukushima Prefecture has just been saved. Japan will recover. The rescue effort is in now in full force, with physical and monetary international aid coming in. And the use of SNS services to stay in touch and offer assistance has been astounding.

I can't thank people enough for all the phone calls, emails, Facebook comments, tweets, and mobile phone texts to confirm that I and my loved ones were okay. We are.

My experience of the quake that hit on Friday afternoon was minor compared to those in the Tôhoku region, but at the time it was the single most frightening episode of my life. I was working at home - I live on the 5th floor of a wide, terraced apartment complex that is seven stories at its highest point. When the tremor suddenly upgraded to severe shaking things began to rain off the shelves. I had the presence of mind (stupidity?) to place fragile items on the floor before they fell and shattered, buffered my flatscreen TV and Mac computer with pillows, switched off the electricity mains (gas turns off automatically) and quickly left the building via the stairs. The ward office is right across the street so I took refuge there and watched the TV in the lobby with a crowd of local residents. Moments later came those unforgettable aerial shots on NHK of the tsunami swallowing up farms, houses and highways near Sendai. New video and photographs from previously unreachable areas are coming in constantly. The scope of destruction is beyond words.

My wife was working near Tsukiji (famous for its fish market) and had no choice but to walk all the way home -- a trek of almost 4 hours. With no mobile phone communication possible, I rode my bicycle to a pre-arranged meeting point roughly half way, near Ikebukuro. Along the usual route I take I was amazed to see thousands of people walking the streets, all talking to each other. Tokyo has a reputation for being a place where people mind their own business but on this day everyone was in it together. Throughout Friday and Saturday there were unnerving aftershocks, which has made it difficult to sleep. I pity people stranded on rooftops and other locations in the wintry north and hope Japan's amazingly capable rescue teams reach them soon.

Chris Magee of the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow sent out a group email to writers in the Japanese cinema blogosphere in an effort to coordinate donation efforts among our little community. We ended up selecting the Japan Society in New York, both for its strong ties to Japanese cinema and of course its legitimacy and trustworthiness in getting money directly to those in need. Please donate by clicking the widget at the top-right corner of this blog. This link will also be present on a host of other well-known sites in the community (full list to come soon).

Short Film Project "Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring"

2011-03-07T18:58:00.002+09:00

When I was in film school it was all about directing, followed by editing and writing. I was in 16mm hell (which was, I later realized, heaven).

I never planned to become a film journalist/translator/consultant or all around benriya. They are things I'm lucky and grateful to have had a chance to do, especially in Japan. There are a thousand worse ways to earn a living. Nonetheless, it's been quite a few years of putting time and energy into other people's movies to put it bluntly, though I'm certainly not done with such work. Things are moving along with Max Mannix' Yellow Earth, I'm still translating (this is the latest movie) and writing for Screen International.

I previously mentioned a refocus on my own feature scriptwriting, which is progressing. Now I'd like to make a short film. It's been quite some time since I shot anything narrative, but if not now then when?

I've decided to try out crowd source funding for my project Yukuharu - The Fading of Spring. I was disheartened to find out that Kickstarter limits fundraising projects to US residents, but was pleased to discover IndieGogo soon after.

I'm currently working on the story for Yukuharu and will go into pre-production later this month. Project details can be found here.

Yoroshiku!