Eight Films at 8th Sacramento Japanese Film Festival
The 8th annual Sacramento Japanese Film Festival opens at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 13 at the Crest Theatre, located at 1023 K Street, Sacramento. Seven feature films and a documentary short will screen from Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening through Sunday afternoon, July 15.
Opening Night
Friday, July 13, 8 p.m.
A Good Husband
Director: Isao Yukisada, 2009, 128 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
The opening night movie will be “A Good Husband,” about a famous photographer who has the marriage blahs and is jobless. Sakura and Shunseke commemorate their upcoming divorce at a seaside resort. Shunseke takes photographs of his wife. A serious, funny comedy with an unexpected ending and meaning.
Saturday, July 14, 1 p.m.
Porco Rosso
Director: Hayao Miyazaki, 1982, 94 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
Hayao Miyasaki’s anime tribute to the air pilots of World War I and World War II. The unsung treasure from Miyazaki nestles a tale of morality and identify inside a soaring airborne adventure - a tribute to early aviation and the reckless flyboys whose home was the open sky.
Saturday, July 14, 3 p.m.
A Boy and His Samurai
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura, 2010, 109 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
A hard working mom and her son see a man dress in Samurai garb outside their Tokyo supermarket. She thinks it’s an advertising promotion. It’s an 1800’s Edo period Samurai caught in a time warp.
Saturday, July 14,
5:10 p.m.
Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness
Director: Robert Kirk, 2005, 82 minutes
In English and Japanese
The PBS documentary on Chinue Sugihara, diplomat of Imperial Japan, who saved over 2000 Jews from the Holocaust. Archival film; interviews with survivors, and Sugihara family members.
Saturday, July 14, 8 p.m.
ABRAXAS
Director: Naoki Kato, 2010, 113 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
ABRAXAS, a hit of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of a young Buddhist monk who has a meltdown and re-discovers himself through rock and roll.
Sunday, July 15, 1 p.m.
Kabei: Our Mother
Director: Yoji Yamada, 2008, 133 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
Yoji Yamada’s tribute to Japanese women during World War II. The story of a hard working young mother and her two daughters when their father is put into prison for actions against the government.
Sunday, July 15, 3 p.m.
The Tsunami & The Cherry Blossom
Director: Lucy Walker, 2011, 40 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
Lucy Walker’s Oscar nominated documentary on the tsunami and its aftermath. The cell phone films and the survivors speak for themselves.
David and Kamal
Director: Kikuo Kawasaki, 2011, 78 minutes
In English, Hebrew, and Arabic with English subtitles
The difficulties of an American Jewish boy, David, and a Palestinian boy, Kamal, who try to become friends in Jerusalem. Co-presented with the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival.
Ten percent of 2012 net film festival proceeds will go to the post tsunami rebuilding work in Japan.
Tickets are $10 per film or $35 for the All Festival Pass.
The Sacramento Japanese Film Festival began as a one day festival, Japanese Movies at the Crest, in 2005. In 2010 it grew to a three-day festival with five films. In 2011, it has expanded to six films. In 2012, it has expanded to eight films. The film festival is sponsored by the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church, www.sacjumc.com.
Visit www.sacjapanesefilmfestival.net for more information.