Shinsedai Cinema Festival: Day 1

It’s been four months of solid work, but finally the Shinsedai Cinema Festival kicked off last night here at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre here in Toronto. All our guests were onhand: “Now, I…” director Yasutomo Chikuma, the crew of indie mystery/ thriller “Thunderfish”, director Touru Hano, cinematographer Tetsuhiro Kato, and lead actress Junko Kimoto, “Vortex and Others” director Yoshihiro Ito, artist and animator Akino Kondoh, and “Peaches!” organizer and producer Atsuko Ohno.  Joining them were festival co-programmers Chris MaGee and Jasper Sharp (below with “Thunderfish” actress  Junko Kimoto serving up sake to guests),  JCCC Executive Director James Heron and Nobuaki Yamamoto, the Vice Consul General of Japan and the Katsuhiro Yokoyama, CEO of Subaru Canada. Sake flowed at the traditional kagami biraki cask breaking ceremony and Subaru’s  Yokoyama related the story of how he made trips to the original ATG, Art Theater Guild, in Tokyo as a teenager and soaked up indie films not only from Japan but from around the globe. His short speech summed up precisely what Shinsedai is about: finding and fostering new film talent from Japan.