Kurosawa’s ‘Ran’ at Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills
Also starting March 18 is the re-release of “A.K.,” Chris Marker’s (“La Jetée”) Kurosawa documentary filmed during the production of...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 18, 20163 min read
INTO THE NEXT STAGE: ‘Persona Non Grata,’ ‘Miyagi’ Relay Stories of 2 Japanese Men
In recent days, I made the time to watch a couple of movies that told the stories of two very different Japanese men from very different...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 18, 20165 min read
Oscar Winners, Nominees Protest Jokes About Asians; Academy Responds
Rafu Staff Report The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued an apology after receiving a letter of protest from 25 Asian...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 16, 20161 min read
‘Freeway City’ Screening at GVJCI
Paul Bannai is sworn in as a Gardena city councilman in 1972. At right is Mayor Ken Nakaoka. (From “Freeway City”) GARDENA — “Freeway...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 11, 20167 min read
INTO THE NEXT STAGE: Oscars Black Enough for You?
What’s worse than an event that pissed you off? The majority of the press thinking it was great. The fact that most reporters praised...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 11, 20162 min read
AAJA Questions USA Today’s Take on Oscar Joke
Screen grab from the online version of USA Today’s article. During the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 28, host Chris Rock introduced...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 8, 20163 min read
Asians on Film Festival at JANM
The marriage of Bud (Steve Alden Nelson) and Hiro (Sab Shimono) is explored in David Au’s comedic short “Family Gathering.” The 2016...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 7, 20161 min read
Screening of ‘Joy of Man’s Desiring’
Dinner (by preorder only) starts at 6 p.m. Sugita experienced the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 when he was 14 year old. He couldn’t...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 4, 20164 min read
INTO THE NEXT STAGE: Oscars 2016 — The Big Short Shrift
What a disappointment. Beforehand, I thought it a fortuitous yet inspired occurrence that I was really looking forward to seeing....
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 3, 20162 min read
Korean Soprano Disappointed by Omission from Oscar Ceremony
Amid all the talk about lack of diversity at this year’s Academy Awards, one snub received little attention in coverage of Sunday’s...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 3, 20164 min read
‘The Boy and The Beast’ Opens in U.S. Theaters Nationwide March 4
A scene from Mamoru Hosoda’s “The Boy and the Beast.” (Courtesy of Funimation Entertainment) PR Newswire Funimation Entertainment...
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Rafu Shimpo
Mar 1, 20165 min read
Oscars Host Criticized for Joke About Asians
Three Asian “accountants” appeared on stage during the Academy Awards ceremony. (AMPAS) The focus was on the “Oscars So White”...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 28, 20164 min read
Director Takahata Recognized at Annie Awards
A scene from Isao Takahata’s “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988). Rafu Staff Report Japanese anime director Isao Takahata received a juried...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 28, 20163 min read
‘Revenant’ Blocked from Oscar Music Category
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” is expected to win several Oscars at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, but the prize for...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 26, 20162 min read
‘Only Yesterday’ Opening in U.S. (UPDATED)
It’s 1982, and Taeko (Daisy Ridley) is 27 years old, unmarried, and has lived her whole life in Tokyo. She decides to visit her family in...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 26, 20167 min read
INTO THE NEXT STAGE: Aziz Ansari — Master of Assessing Life
Yeah, I know Netflix released all 10 episodes on “Master of None” on Nov. 6. So why am I finally reviewing this series now? I’m not a...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 24, 20162 min read
‘Rising Sun, Rising Soul’ Panel Discussion at USC
Playwright Velina Hasu Houston with her mother, Setsuko Perry. The Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture at USC presents...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 19, 20166 min read
INTO THE NEXT STAGE: 2016 — The Oscar Race, and Race and the Oscars, Part 2
Last column I wrote about the 2016 Academy Award noms and the controversy that arose after, for the second year in a row, all the top...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 19, 20161 min read
JFLA to Screen ‘Still the Water’
On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami, traditions about nature remain eternal. During the full-moon night of traditional dances in...
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Rafu Shimpo
Feb 19, 20162 min read
‘Real Miyagi’ Documentary Released on DVD
Fumio Demura with screen legends Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee. IRVINE – “The Real Miyagi,” an award-winning feature documentary, was...
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