2014 New York Japan CineFest

Independent Japanese Film Festival - New York Japan CineFest

Highlighting some of the most exciting new voices in cinema, these six award-winning shorts, including live action and animation, offer rich insight into the imagination and creative impulse of emerging filmmakers. Program attended by filmmakers.

[Program]

Minka Dir. Davina Pardo. 2011. 15 min. Documentary. Minka is a short documentary about a remarkable Japanese farmhouse and the memories it contains. In 1967, an American journalist and a Japanese student rescued the ancient house from the snow country of Japan, and their lives were forever changed. Florida Film Festival: Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Savannah Film Festival: Special Jury Award

Abita Dir. Shoko Hara, Paul Brenner. 2012. 4 min. Animation. Animated short film about Fukushima children who can’t play outside because of the radioactivity. About their dreams and realities. International Uranium Film Festival 2013: Best Animated Film

Junk Head 1 Dir. Takahide Hori. 2014. 30 min. Animation. After a conflict between humans and clones, the clones have been driven far below, to the lower levels of the city. Now, 1,200 years later, humans are sending a research pod down below to study the clones’ habitat. Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2014: Best Animation

The Misadventures of Incredible Dr. Wonderfoot Dir. Grier Dill/Brett Glass. 2013. 12 min. Comedy. This high-octane sci-fi comedy follows an aging Japanese podiatrist down a rabbit hole of unbelievable stories from his buried past.

Lil Tokyo Reporter Dir. Jeffrey Gee Chin. 2012. 30 min. Drama. 1935 Los Angeles: community leader Sei Fujii uncovers the corrupt activities of his community’s underground mafia. He must choose between saving the face of his deteriorating community and confronting the issues head-on through his newspaper. Based on a true story. California International Shorts Festival: Best Short Film DisOrient Oregon Asian American: Best Short Film LA International Underground: Best Short Film Sacramento International: Best Short Film Treasure Coast International: Best Short Film Treasure Coast International: Best Cinematography Asians on Film 2014: Best Cinematography Asians on Film 2013: Best Cinematography

Little Kyota Neon Hood Dir. Satsuki Okawa. 2012. 20 min. Comedy/Drama. Ten-year-old Kyota lives in Kiryu City with his single mother. There are two items he cannot live without — a worn-out English vocabulary book and a disaster prevention hood. One day Kyota’s English teacher Tim, who went back to the UK following an earthquake, returns to his school. Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival: Grand Prix for Short Film Category