First Pond Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to "Tenshin," a biopic on the life of Japanese artist Okakura "Tenshin" Kakuzo. Also following the announcement is the release of the first exclusive poster for the film, featuring a painterly vision of the legendary artist. Read More: Meet the 2013 SXSW Filmmakers #15: Junya Sakino Explores Social Issues Through Comedy in Sake-Bomb "Tenshin" follows Kakuzo as he works to establish himself as a revolutionary voice in the Japanese art world. Starring Shido Nakamura and Naoto Takenaka, the film promises a close consideration of the life of a great artist whose modern artistic flourishes continue to inform Japanese art. First Pond Entertainment recently released "Man From Reno," "Sake-Bomb" and "Patang." They will release "Tenshin" this winter. See the elegant poster above. Read More: Laff Review: Pepe Serna is a...
- 10/15/2015
- by Aubrey Page
- Indiewire
Junya Sakino is a new japanese director, that has previously worked as a cinematographer and producer, both in Japan and the Us. On the occasion of the release of his first feature film, Sake Bomb he answered some of my questions. I will not get into further details about him as the interview is quite biographical
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your first feature film, Sake bomb. Could you tell us a bit about the path that brought you from Japan to the U.S and the making of this movie.?
I was born and raised in Japan and decided to move to Los Angeles to purse a filmmaking career. It’s not that I didn’t consider staying in Japan, but it made sense for me that there were a lot of universities that offered film studies, so my natural instinct was just to...
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your first feature film, Sake bomb. Could you tell us a bit about the path that brought you from Japan to the U.S and the making of this movie.?
I was born and raised in Japan and decided to move to Los Angeles to purse a filmmaking career. It’s not that I didn’t consider staying in Japan, but it made sense for me that there were a lot of universities that offered film studies, so my natural instinct was just to...
- 9/12/2015
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
James Mudge recently caught up with director Junya Sakino, who made his feature film directorial debut on the culture-clash comedy “Sake-Bomb”, over at the 2013 Raindance Film Festival. (You can read that review here.) You can find out more about the film and follow it over at Facebook. In the meantime, here is our interview with the director. James Mudge: I caught the screening of Sake Bomb, and really enjoyed it, a little different to what I expected, though in a very good way. It deals with some serious issues, cultural stereotyping and the experiences of Asian people…. Junya Sakino: I guess that depends on how you define seriousness, right? It’s funny, as some people think it’s a really light comedy, some people read more into the subtext. I find it interesting to see the difference between Us reaction and UK reaction, there’s a lot of similarities but a lot of differences.
- 10/14/2013
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Sake-Bomb [pictured] and It’s Me, It’s Me are slated for Us theatrical release
Japan’s Pictures Dept. has announced the Us acquisitions and theatrical releases of SXSW comedy Sake-Bomb, directed by Junya Sakino and Kazuya Kamenashi-starrer It’s Me, It’s Me, directed by Satoshi Miki.
Pictures Dept. Co. Ltd. and First Pond Entertainment are partnering to handle Us distribution on Sake-Bomb’s theatrical release. The deal was negotiated by Yuko Shiomaki of Pictures Dept. and Oliver Ike of First Pond Entertainment.
New York-based Digital Media Rights has also picked up DVD and VOD rights for the Us.
The road movie, named after the cocktail of a shot of sake dropped in a glass of beer, follows the exploits of a sarcastic Asian American internet star wannabe and his naïve cousin, a sake-maker from Japan, as they travel through northern California in search of the latter’s ex-girlfriend.
Sake-Bomb was picked...
Japan’s Pictures Dept. has announced the Us acquisitions and theatrical releases of SXSW comedy Sake-Bomb, directed by Junya Sakino and Kazuya Kamenashi-starrer It’s Me, It’s Me, directed by Satoshi Miki.
Pictures Dept. Co. Ltd. and First Pond Entertainment are partnering to handle Us distribution on Sake-Bomb’s theatrical release. The deal was negotiated by Yuko Shiomaki of Pictures Dept. and Oliver Ike of First Pond Entertainment.
New York-based Digital Media Rights has also picked up DVD and VOD rights for the Us.
The road movie, named after the cocktail of a shot of sake dropped in a glass of beer, follows the exploits of a sarcastic Asian American internet star wannabe and his naïve cousin, a sake-maker from Japan, as they travel through northern California in search of the latter’s ex-girlfriend.
Sake-Bomb was picked...
- 7/12/2013
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
I had planned to see the dark foreign film The Five Seasons at the Violet Crown on opening night, but was easily convinced by my friend Anna Hanks to try Sake-Bomb instead. The light cross-cultural road-trip comedy was just what I needed after the intense Upstream Color screening. Sake-Bomb was filmed in both Japan and California, and follows sake factory employee Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as he visits his uncle and cousin Sebastian (Eugene Kim) in L.A. and tries to find the woman who broke his heart (and lives in Petaluma).
Director Junya Sakino introduced the film, and since it was the movie's world premiere, some cast members were in attendance as well. I was in theatre 4 during the screening, and we watched the live feed from theatre 3. When it started, we actually worried we'd be watching the film via the live feed as well, but they then switched it on for our screen.
Director Junya Sakino introduced the film, and since it was the movie's world premiere, some cast members were in attendance as well. I was in theatre 4 during the screening, and we watched the live feed from theatre 3. When it started, we actually worried we'd be watching the film via the live feed as well, but they then switched it on for our screen.
- 3/18/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Another year and another great festival wraps up deep in the heart of Texas. As the curtains draw to a close on the Paramount and the music fades, Friday marked the end of another great festival at South by Southwest. With over a hundred films screened, this year’s festival has introduced a plethora of great films to audiences. The festival has been a chance to showcase big headliners like Evil Dead as well as highlight fantastic indies like Zero Charisma. The greatest thing about these festivals is the air of collaboration between various artists, admirers, and professionals alike. Hearing a conversation between a music badge holder, film badge press, and interactive entrepreneurs sums up South by Southwest succinctly. It really captures the spirit of South by Southwest and reminds us why Austin is a true Mecca for creativity and collaboration. Signing off from Austin, TX, see y’all next year!
- 3/17/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
Sake-Bomb
Directed by Junya Sakino
Written by Jeff Mizushima (screenplay)
Us/Japan, 2013
Sake-Bomb follows the odd couple pairing of Sebastian (Eugene Kim), an aimless and sardonic Asian-American, and his inexperienced Japanese cousin Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as they search California for the latter’s ex flame. Before Naoto inherits his own sake company, he sets off to America in order to find the girl that got away. Sebastian is a twenty-something, second generation Asian -American with no job and dreams to be the next viral video star, making videos that belligerently debunk Asian stereotypes. Together, they follow the typical road trip movie tropes that take them to unexpected places, interesting people, and a few life lessons along the way.
When it comes to the self discovery road genre of films, Sake-Bomb satisfies with laughs, emotion, and broad ethnic themes but does not do much in the way of revolutionizing the wheel.
Directed by Junya Sakino
Written by Jeff Mizushima (screenplay)
Us/Japan, 2013
Sake-Bomb follows the odd couple pairing of Sebastian (Eugene Kim), an aimless and sardonic Asian-American, and his inexperienced Japanese cousin Naoto (Gaku Hamada) as they search California for the latter’s ex flame. Before Naoto inherits his own sake company, he sets off to America in order to find the girl that got away. Sebastian is a twenty-something, second generation Asian -American with no job and dreams to be the next viral video star, making videos that belligerently debunk Asian stereotypes. Together, they follow the typical road trip movie tropes that take them to unexpected places, interesting people, and a few life lessons along the way.
When it comes to the self discovery road genre of films, Sake-Bomb satisfies with laughs, emotion, and broad ethnic themes but does not do much in the way of revolutionizing the wheel.
- 3/13/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
There's really nothing as funny as some good ironically racist humor, which is exactly what looks to be on full display in this Twitch exclusive trailer debut for Junya Sakino SXSW Premiering debut feature Sake-Bomb. Billed as a sexed-up road comedy, the film is written by Jeff Mizushima and stars Gaku Hamada, Eugene Kim, Marlane Barnes, and Josh Brodis. Here is the description from the press notes, followed by the trailer: Sebastian is a bitter, self-hating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend and is looking for someone new. When his cousin Naoto, a quiet sake maker from Japan, shows up to find his own ex-girlfriend, Sebastian reluctantly takes him to northern California to find her. The...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/26/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Premiering next month in the New Visions section at the SXSW Film Festival, Junya Sakino‘s Sake-Bomb takes the old road trip formula and adds in some extra-special ingredients – like unrequited love, mismatched family members, and cultural clashes. And you thought simply traveling to Disneyland with your family in a minivan was tough, amirite? The film centers on young Sebastian, “a bitter, self-hating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles” (which is, incidentally, my favorite character description of the year so far), who has just been dropped by his lady love. He’s soon joined by his quiet Japanese cousin, Naoto, who needs Sebastian’s help to find his own ex-girlfriend in Northern California. Cue road trip, misunderstanding, and probably more than one breakdown (and not just of the vehicular variety). Sake-Bomb will have its world premiere at SXSW on Friday, March 8, with three additional screenings to follow later in the festival. Until...
- 2/22/2013
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Some of the best films of the 2012/2013 calender year from Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Bujalski, Jeff Nichols, David Gordon Green, Shane Carruth and Joshua Oppenheimer are among the headliner names for the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. With a little over 100 plus film line-up (a whopping 2000+ titles were submitted), almost 70 are world premieres: there is the highly anticipated sophomore film (that has been on our radar since it first went into production) with M. Blash’s (The Wait), Joe Swanberg who makes SXSW his second home will premiere Drinking Buddies, veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles saddles in with Go For Sisters, and rounding out the Narrative Spotlight section we’ve got The Bounceback from Bryan Poyser, Loves Her Gun from Geoff Marslett along with titles we thought might break into Park City, but found an Austin home instead with Jacob Vaughan’s Milo and...
- 2/1/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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