JCCH Programs Newsletter - Vol. 2 #6

Vol. 2 #6

"Harimaya Bridge"

NEWSFLASH!  “Harimaya Bridge” will be opening Friday, April 23rd at the Regal Dole Cannery Theaters for a one-week limited engagement.

While most people on the island were settling down in front of their TVs amidst a sea of Super Bowl snacks, braving the Chinese New Year crowds in Chinatown, or recuperating from Punahou Carnival malasada binges, I joined a group of about 100 fellow film enthusiasts in a lecture hall on the UH-Manoa campus.

We were privileged to attend a screening of a film that previously opened in last summer in  theaters in Japan, “The Harimaya Bridge,"co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan, the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i.

 

Director/Screenwriter Aaron Woolfolk and Professor of Anthropology at UH-Manoa Dr. Christine Yano lead a panel discussion after the film, taking questions and comments from the audience. Aaron is an Oakland, California native and a fellow Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program alumnus and I found that many of the scenes of “inaka Kochi” echoed those in my memories of Saga. After graduating from the University of California Berkeley with degrees in Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric, Aaron spent a year teaching English in Japan before returning to the U.S. to earn an M.F.A. in Film with an emphasis in Directing from Columbia University. His thesis project consisted of two short films about Mickey, an African-American JET teacher in Kochi: “Eki (The Station)” and “Kuro Hitsuji (Black Sheep)”. Three of the characters in “Harimaya Bridge”: Mickey, Noriko, and Emi also appeared in “Kuro Hitsuji”.

Aaron’s current projects include “Summer Solstice”, a comedy-drama about a summer festival in a small town in Louisiana, and second film that is a sort of reverse-“Harimaya”, in which a Japanese man has a dream about opening a jazz bar in New Orleans.

For more information on “Harimaya Bridge” and Aaron, see the film’s official website at http://www.theharimayabridge.com/

Yoko Mae (Researcher, Public Information and Cultural Affairs Section, Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu), Dr. Robert Huey (Director, Center for Japanese Studies, UH-Manoa), Director Aaron Woolfolk, Dr. Christine Yano (Professor, Department of Anthropolgy, UH-Manoa), Jennifer Seki (Volunteers Coordinator, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i).

"The Harimaya Bridge" Screening - Sunday, February 7, 2010, 2:00 p.m. at UH-Manoa

The Harimaya Bridge Screening

JCCH volunteers and members are invited to a special screening of the soon to be released film The Harimaya Bridge, this Sunday, February 7 starting at 2 pm. Presented by the Consulate General of Japan at Honolulu, the event is co-sponsored by JCCH, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and the UH Center for Japanese Studies. After the screening, the film’s director, Aaron Woolfolk (who is a JET program alumnus) and Professor Christine Yano of the University of Hawai‘i (and JCCH board of directors member) will speak.

The plot of the film follows Daniel Holder, an African American man whose father was killed fighting the Japanese during the World War II, something he thought he had made peace with, until a recent discovery revealed to him the cruel and brutal way in which his father died. So when Daniel’s beloved artist son Mickey takes a job in Japan teaching English, it creates a rift between them.

Mickey dies in a traffic accident, and Daniel’s profound regret at their estrangement is matched only by his increased resentment towards Japan; a country he thinks took not only his father, but now his only child as well.  Despite these feelings, Daniel goes to Japan to retrieve Mickey’s final paintings. After all of the kindness he is shown and the evidence of the happy life his son led, he cannot let go of his hatred. Some unexpected discoveries about Mickey’s life and legacy change everything for Daniel, forcing him to reassess his feelings and the life he will henceforth lead.

The film stars Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu, and Danny Glover. See the trailer for the film above.

The screening will take place at the Shidler College of Business Building, Room A101(2404 Maile Way) at 2 pm. The event will be free of admission, but there will be a non-refundable on-campus parking fee. Seating is  limited, so please call Ms. Yoshiko Matsuoka at 543-3127 to RSVP for yourself and up to two guests. (www.spoiledsansei.com)

English Docent Meeting - Artist Paul Nagano

Front row: Ethel Murakami, Joe Muratsuchi, June Kadomoto with her new Nagano painting, Paul Nagao (artist). 2nd row: Carol Meier, Ethel Hasegawa, Valerie Okihara. Back row: Meredith Ching, Aileen Fujitani, Betsy Sekiya, Elaine Okazaki.

Our February English Docent Meeting was held at the beautiful home of June Kadomoto, on Waialae-Iki Ridge, overlooking a panoramic view from Koko Head to Diamond Head.  Our special guests were June’s classmates from Ali‘iolani Elementary and Stevenson Middle School, Meredith Ching and artist Paul Nagano.

We enjoyed a relaxing and informative morning listening to Paul talk about his path to becoming a watercolor artist and had the privilege to see some of his works done in Hawaii and several of his sketchbooks that have traveled around the world with him.  Paul graduated from Punahou School and attended Columbia College in New York on a Navy scholarship where he earned a B.A. in English Literature (the Navy would not allow him to major in Art).  After serving three years in the Navy, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, studying drawing and painting.  He then served as Art Director at the Pucker Safrai Gallery in Boston until 1989.  He is still based in Boston, but for most of his career has been fortunate to have the support of art patrons, allowing him to travel and seek inspiration in Japan, Europe, and perhaps most significantly in Bali, Indonesia, where he has spent time each summer since 1984.  His work has evolved over the years, in both subject matter and style, but his primary medium remains watercolor – ideal for traveling due to its quick drying time and portability.  In the late 1990s, Paul found himself creating scenes in his mind, a menagerie of the images and culture he had absorbed through years of time spent in Bali, prompting a series of paintings he calls “SymBALIst”.  Last year he celebrated 25 years of painting Balinese landscapes and images with an exhibition at the Bamboo Gallery in Bali.

With the exception of a small “BANG” across the street, which caused some excitement and much CSI-like speculation about the culprit and cause of the fender bender, we had a leisurely time chatting and feasting on refreshments provided by Betsy Sekiya and Aileen Fujitani.  Our next meeting will be a visit to the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center on March 1.

Nagano works: www.flickr.com/photos/ptnagano

Bali video: www.linkscreen.com/Nagano.html

Paul Nagano’s current exhibit “NAGANO ON BALI: 25” can be viewed at Baik Designs in Gentry Pacific Design Center, 560 N. Nimitz Hwy Ste. 108B, 524-2290.