01 April 2011

Upcoming Tohoku Disaster Relief Events

There are a number of upcoming Japanese cultural events around the world that have been set up in order to raise money for the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami relief effort.  Get out there and do your part!!

Tonight in Tokyo, 19:00-23:00

Museum at Yamada Projects
2 minutes walk from Exit 7 at Tsukishima Station on the Yurakucho and Toei Oedo Lines.

This charity auction is co-organized by a liquor manufacturing company and various players in the art world and creative industries.

Drinks are kindly provided by Moët Hennessy, and all proceeds from sales will be donated to victims of the recent Tohoku earthquake. This is the perfect opportunity to enjoy a little tipple and help to support cities and regions that have been gravely affected by this disaster.

There will also be an open mike session, J-Wave radio personalities, a performance by DJ Taro using an iPad, and various live performances.

In London on Sunday, April 3rd, 18:00-21:00
Roxy Bar and Screen
128-132 Borough High Street

In collaboration with the Play for Japan project, Zipangu will be doing a special London re-screening of the awesome CALF Animation programme, which made waves at Zipangu Fest 2010 and is travelling on to Newcastle next month.

This selection of innovative and uplifting shorts from the minds of young award-winning animators* Atsushi Wada, Mirai Mizue, Kei Oyama and TOCHKA (Takeshi Nagata and Kazue Monno) will redefine our notions of Japanese animation as it is currently perceived in popular culture. In the space of 13 bite-sized delights, CALF will have you on the edge of your seat and asking for more. You won't be disappointed!

Learn more about these artists: 

In Berlin on Sunday, April 3rd, 10:00-18:00

Flohmarkt am Boxhagener Platz
Boxhagener Platz1, 10245 Berlin

Operation Onigiri and Berlin Loves Japan are hosting another event in order to raise donations for the relief efforts in Japan. If you would like to help, bring your wallet or your wares to sell to the Flea Market in Boxhagener Platz.

In Toronto on Tuesday, April 5th, 19:00-21:00

The Revue Cinema
400 Roncesvalles Avenue


The Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow is proud to present the Toronto Premiere of Yosuke Fujita's comedy FINE TOTALLY FINE with 100% of the proceeds going to Japanese earthquake/ tsunami relief. TICKETS ONLY $8.00 AT THE DOOR!

Yosuke Fujita has made a truly feel good indie comedy with his story of Teruo (YosiYosi Arakawa), a tree trimmer whose mission in life is to make the scariest haunted house experience in Japan. He enlists the help of his best friend Hisanobu (Yoshinori Okada), a hospital administrator, in his bone-chilling plans, but Hisanobu is starting to doubt if two guys heading into their 30's should really be spending their time trying to scare the life out of people. The lives of these two friends takes a turn when accident prone artist Akari (Yoshino Kimura) comes to work at Hisanobu's hospital. Can wanting to terrify people, growing up and falling in love co-exist in these two slackers' lives?

100% proceeds from this screening of FINE TOTALLY FINE will go directly to SUPPORT JAPAN - GAMBARE/ JustGiving, a relief fund created by Yuko Shiomaki, the president of PICTURES DEPT., the distributor of FINE TOTALLY FINE. Japan is facing its greatest crisis since WW2. Please come out to see a great film and to help those in need!

Thanks to Pictures Dept. and Third Window Films for making this event possible.

I will announce future events via the Nishikata Eiga Facebook Page and Twitter.