FCCJ screening and Q&A

[Eija Niskanen]

Dear KineJapanners,

 We have another sneak preview opportunity at the Foreign Correspondents'
 Club of Japan.  Please email Karen Severns if you'd like to attend.  The
 FCCJ is a private club, so a reservation through Karen is necessary:
 kjs30 at gol.com

http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/5992

Special Sneak Preview Screening: LEONIE
followed by a Q&A session with director Hisako Matsui
Tuesday, October 12, 6:30 pm 20th floor
Please note earlier start time

In Japanese and English with English subtitles
Japan / USA, 2010 132 minutes
Director: Hisako Matsui
Writers: Hisako Matsui and David Wiener
Producers: Hisako Matsui, Ashok Amritraj, Yuuki Itoh, Masao Nagai
Cast: Emily Mortimer, Shido Nakamura, Mary Kay Place, Masatoshi
Nakamura, Mieko Harada

Film courtesy of Kadokawa

Description:
The Movie Committee is honored to present this special sneak preview of
one of this fall's most hotly anticipated international coproductions,
starring Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl, Young Adam) and
Shido Nakamura (Letters from Iwo Jima, Red Cliff).

Renowned Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi has said, "Why I
became an artist is related deeply to how my mother lived through her
life," and he credited her not only for nurturing his artistic talents,
but for rescuing him from his ill-advised pursuit of pre-med studies,
freeing him to follow his passion instead. A mother such as this surely
deserves more than a footnote in history, and here it is: Leonie, the
dramatic, true story of an extraordinary life, and a mother's love like
no other.

In early 20th century Philadelphia, Leonie Gilmour (Mortimer), a young
American with aspirations of being an editor, meets a famous Japanese
poet, Yone Noguchi (Nakamura). With Leonie's help, Yone gains
recognition for his novels and poems in the U.S. and Britain, and an
intense romantic relationship develops between the two. When Yone
discovers that Leonie is pregnant with his child, however, he retreats
to Japan. Leonie gives birth to a son, Isamu, in California with her
mother (Place), but eventually, their peaceful life together is tainted
by racial discrimination as a result of the Russo-Japanese War.
Determined to improve her son's life, Leonie crosses the Pacific Ocean
and is reunited with Yone-only to discover that he has a terrible
secret. As Isamu Noguchi grows to adulthood, these early childhood
traumas will mark him and influence his later brilliance as an artist.

Producer / writer / director Hisako Matsui had a successful career as a
magazine writer before establishing a production company, IF, for actors.
She then established Essen Communications Ltd. in 1985 and began
producing TV dramas, travel programs and documentaries. Her directorial
début, Yukie, released in 1998, was filmed in Louisiana and received
critical acclaim at film festivals worldwide. Her second film, Oriume,
was released in 2002.

Please join the Movie Committee as we host this special sneak preview of
Leonie ahead of its opening on November 20 at Kadokawa Theaters in
Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and others.

All movie screenings are private, noncommercial events restricted to
FCCJ members and their guests.

Karen Severns, Edwin Karmiol, Movie Committee



-- 
Eija Niskanen
Baltic Sea - Japan Film Project
Kichijoji Honcho 4-12-6
Musashino-shi
Tokyo 180-0004