Part I of the Japan Society’s annual Year Ahead program will focus on 
Japan’s film industry, which is one of the oldest and largest in the world. We are delighted to present a discussion of contemporary Japanese cinema with Atsushi Ogata. Mr. Ogata is a Japanese film director, scriptwriter, video artist and actor. Born in Japan and partly raised in the United States, he has worked in Holland, Germany, Japan, and in the USA. He is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an M.S. in Visual Studies (video art) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Karen Davis, Senior Film Programmer for the Mill Valley Film Festival, and Jonathan M Hall, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Pomona College in Claremont, California, will join the discussion. Ms. Davis and Professor Hall will share their unique perspectives on Mr. Ogata’s body of work and how it fits into contemporary Japanese cinema.
After the conversation, Atsushi will present his 2010 film, CAST ME IF YOU CAN (Wakiyaku Monogatari).
[97 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.]
About CAST ME IF YOU CAN: Hiroshi is an actor who always plays supporting roles and lives in the shadow of his famous playwright father, Kenta. Hiroshi has the virtue of being helpful to strangers, but as a result, like a chameleon, he is always mistaken for someone else: a sales clerk, a policeman, and even a kidnapper. Both at work and at home, Hiroshi struggles daily with his marginalized existence.
One day, Hiroshi’s luck changes when he’s cast in a Woody Allen remake and meets his muse…CAST ME IF YOU CAN is a sweet, subtle romantic comedy for all generations that will leave you smiling.
CAST ME IF YOU CAN has screened at numerous film festivals in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Mill Valley, Boston, China, India, and Germany, and has received many awards. It had a nationwide theatrical release in Japan, a novel based on the film has been published, and DVDs have also been released in North America in January.
Director’s Statement
Reflecting my own bi-cultural upbringing, CAST ME IF YOU CAN was developed bilingually and bi-culturally, so that it can be enjoyed both by Americans and Japanese together. I also wanted to portray a variety of characters of different ages interacting with each other, misunderstanding each other and supporting each other, even if the world around them wasn’t always as welcoming.
Karen Davis is a film curator, media producer, writer and Senior Film Programmer for the Mill Valley Film Festival. As a lecturer, she teaches courses at CSUMB in world cinema, producing/directing skills, screenwriting, cultural studies, and media studies/media literacy, and has served on the faculty of several institutions including CSUMB and (as a visiting professor) at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and Vassar College. She also teaches courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Berkeley and CSU Monterey Bay. She has written and directed numerous film and video productions and her work has screened at Sundance, New Directors/New Films and many other festivals.
An Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Pomona College in Claremont, California, Jonathan M Hall researches, curates, and promotes Asian cinema, especially from Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. Having lived in Japan for more than a decade, Hall has worked in a number of Japan film contexts, including as producer for foreign documentaries about Japan. Hall’s co-curated “JPEX: Japanese Experimental Film & Video, 1955-now,” the most comprehensive international survey of Japanese experimental film to date, toured seven North American cities in 2004 and 2005. Hall continues to work between Asia and North America and is a passionate promoter of Japanese film in a trans-Pacific context.
DVDs will be available for purchase at the screening, and the original press book (pamphlet) will be given as a gift to anyone purchasing the DVD. DVDs and/or pamphlets can be autographed at the event by Atsushi Ogata.
Location:
Variety Preview Room
582 Market Street, ground floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Date & Time:
Saturday, March 3, 2012
2:00 Registration & Reception
2:30 Panel Discussion
3:30 Film Screening
Cost:
Free for Japan Society Leadership Circle members
$7 for current Japan Society members
$15 General Admission
This event is sold out. Please call 415-986-4383 if you would like your name added to the waiting list.
PLEASE NOTE: Seating is limited and advanced registration is strongly recommended by Wednesday, February 29, 2012. No refunds will be issued after Friday, February 24. If the theater is full, walk-ins will not be permitted.
The Japan Society kindly thanks Union Bank for their generous support for this program. This event is co-sponsored by the USF Center for the Pacific Rim. Variety’s Preview Room is owned and operated by Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California.