NYAFF 2009

This year’s New York Asian Film Festival runs from June 19 – July 5 at the IFC Center (June 19 – July 2) and Japan Society (July 1 – 5).

SPECIAL EVENTS

PINK POWER: PINK EIGA PRESENTS JAPAN’S UNKNOWN FILM INDUSTRY

Japanese pink films are the last bastion of analog filmmaking in a digital world: soft-core, sixty-minute sex films shot on film, edited on flatbeds and released theatrically. They’ve been around since the 60’s and not only have many mainstream directors gotten their start shooting pink films (including Kiyoshi Kurosawa), but 2009’s Academy Award winning director, Yojiro Takita (”Departures”), has a long string of pink films on his resume, and we’re showing two of them. We’ll be screening two double features in association with US-based pink film distributor Pink Eiga, who have begun releasing these treasures on DVD in the US this year.

Program #1: Friday, June 19, at 11:30 pm at the IFC Center

This includes Yojiro Takita’s ridiculous “The Groper Train: Search for the Black Pearl,” and the hilariously bawdy send-up of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Teorema, The Japanese Wife Next Door, Part 1,” directed by Yutaka Ikejima.

Program #2: Friday, June 26, at 11:55 pm at the IFC Center

This includes Yojiro Takita’s “The Groper Train: Wedding Capriccio,” and the comedy drama “Blind Love,” directed by Daisuke Goto.

Daisuke Goto, the director of “Blind Love,” and Masahide Iioka, the cinematographer, are expected to attend the festival and introduce the screenings.

Another Hole in the Head

SF IndieFest’s PINK FILM retrospective in Feb ‘09 was so popular, they wanted to show a few more films from Pink Eiga’s collection of great Japanese Art Porn!

“Ninja Pussy Cat”

Rated: NR

Hiroyuki Kawasaki 2003

Run time: 60 min. | Japan

* Synopsis

In 16th Century Japan, the Ninja Kotaro discovers that the Shogun and his heir are not related. Soon after, Kotaro is hunted down and killed by another Ninja, Hattori Hanzo, to protect this secret. Kotaro’s daughter, vowing to avenge his death, develops a new Ninja “fighting style” to fight back.

Check out all the films and events at www.sfindie.com!

June 12     11:45 PM     Big Roxie

June 16     9:30 PM     Little Roxie

“The Silence of the Sushi Rolls”

Rated: NR

Mototsugu Watanabe 2002

Run time: 61 min. | Japan

* Synopsis

In “The Silence of the Sushi Rolls,” we meet Claire, an elite sexual crime investigator, who tries to arrest a sex offender on a train, but he evades capture by putting a strange device on her vagina that incapacitates her. Later, Claire is investigating a stalker case and discovers it is related to the molester and his strange machine. From the director of IndieFest 2009’s “Sexy Battle Girls.”

Check out all the films and events at www.sfindie.com!

June 10     9:30 PM     Little Roxie