Cherry blossoms, robotic automatons and rush-hour trains burst through tired cliché to offer an array of fresh stories from the land of the rising sun. In turns both absurd and sublime, thi collection of fanciful visions and pointed commetaries capture the inimitable paradox that is Japan.
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Mt. Head
Japan 2002
10 mins., 35mm Color
LANGUAGE: Japanese w/E.S.
DIRECTOR: Koji Yamamura
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| A stingy man discovers a cherry tree on his head in this Academy Award-nominated animation. |
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Room Service
Japan 2003
8 mins., Video Color
DIRECTOR: Junji Kojima
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| When one suitcase just isn't enough, simply dial a professional packer, the pinnacle of Japanese service and hospitality. |
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Fish Never Sleep
UK 2002
6 mins., Video Color
DIRECTOR: Gaelle Denis
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| Insomnia means survival for Naoko and the fish. |
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Tokyo Equinox
World Premiere
USA 2004
11 mins., Video Color
DIRECTOR: Yuri Makino
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| A hapa filmmaker reflects on her reunion with a long-estranged father and his country. |
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Doki-Doki
San Francisco Premiere
USA/Japan 2003
30 mins., Video Color/B&W
LANGUAGE: Japanese w/E.S.
DIRECTOR: Chris Eska
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| The lives and hopes of strangers intersect on a Tokyo commuter train. |
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Showa Shinzan
San Francisco Premiere
Canada 2003
13 mins., 35mm Color
DIRECTOR: Alison Reiko Loader
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| Based on actual events, a young girl witnesses the destructive beauty of nature amidst the rumblings of war. |
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God Bless America
San Francisco Premiere
Japan 2002
9 mins., Video Color
DIRECTOR: Tadasu Takamine
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| For eighteen days and nights, two artists eat, sleep, make love and art in a small studio with a giant Bush-quoting claymation head. |
