Presented by Japan Society of Fairfield County

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2016
Time: 2:00PM – 4:30PM
Venue: Geenwich Library
Address: 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich CT 06830 (map)

– A Warm Spell
Dir. Toshimichi Saito | 2014 | Japan | 40 min.

When Masanobu returns home with the body of his mother, he finds that his younger brother, Naoki, has given up on his dream to be a painter in order to take care of the post office, their family business. At their mother’s funeral, the two brothers and a few unlikely strangers come together to bid farewell to the woman who tied them together. The film is developed from director Toshimichi Saito’s NYU thesis short film, also named A Warm Spell, which won the Wasserman Award and Audience Choice Award at NYU’s First Run Film Festival 2014 and went on to be showcased at Directors Guild of American in Los Angeles. Special thanks to New Directors Film Festival.

– Little Kyota Errand Hood
Dir. Satsuki Okawa | 2014 | Japan | 20 min

Three years after the earthquake and tsunami, little boy Kyota meets little girl Shiori. Sharing similar eccentricities, the two quickly become friends and plan to embark on an adventure together. Director Satsuji Okawa’s Little Kyota Noen Hood was screened in last year’s New York Japan CineFest. Special thanks to Aichi International Women’s Film Festival.

– Monk By Blood
Dir. by Ema Ryan Yamazaki | 2013 | USA | 25 min
As a first-born son, 21-year-old Scion Sasaki is destined to take over his family’s Buddhist temple in Kyoto, a temple that is 800 years old and has been managed by 23 generations of Scion’s family. Born in California, Scion was was brought back to Japan at the age of 9 and raised to understand his ultimate duty. Meanwhile, he juggles multiple worlds as a monk, DJ, and aspiring chef.