Philip Kan Gotanda: Past and Present
J-Sei At the Movies: Special Guest Philip Kan Gotanda
Friday, September 9, 2022 – 6:30 pm on Zoom
J-Sei Movie Night is thrilled and honored to welcome back Philip Kan Gotanda, a renowned major force in American theater and the creative arts. Philip last made his appearance on Zoom in September 2020 to talk about his work in theater, music, and film and to discuss his short film Drinking Tea (1996).
On Friday, September 9, Philip will again spend time with us on Zoom to present another film he wrote and directed: his 1996 feature-length film, Life Tastes Good, an original comedy-drama about a rogue mobster who meets a mysterious woman while hiding from his vengeful nemesis as he tries to reconcile with his two estranged children.
The film presents an all-Asian cast to tell a story that the filmmaker describes as “part family drama, part romance, and part film noir.” It stars Sab Shimono, Julia Nickson, Tamlyn Tomita, Greg Watanabe, Kelvin Han Yee, Tim Lounibos, Philip Kan Gotanda, Judi Nihei, Tomoye Takahashi, and Diane Takei; with music by Dan Kuramoto and cinematography by Michael Chin.
We’ll also catch up with Philip to learn about his more recent projects, including this year’s premiere in June of Both Eyes Open, an experimental chamber opera by composer Max Giteck Duykers and librettist Philip Kan Gotanda. Please join us for this special evening.
RSVP with “Sept Movie Night” in the subject line.
We’ll send Zoom information prior to the September 9 event.
About Our Guest
The author of one of the largest bodies of Asian American-themed works, Philip Kan Gotanda has over the last four decades brought stories of Asians in the United States to mainstream American theater as well as to Europe and Asia. He has specialized in investigating the Japanese American family, writing a cycle of works in theater, film, song, and opera that chronicle Japanese America from the early 1900s to the present. Mr. Gotanda is an inaugural recipient of the Dramatists Guild 2021 Playwrights Legacy Initiative, a two-year award acknowledging his body of work in American Theater.
Mr. Gotanda is a respected independent filmmaker. His 3 films — Life Tastes Good, Drinking Tea, and The Kiss — all have been official entries at the Sundance Film Festival. Mr. Gotanda adapted his play, The Wash, into a feature film, directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno. The Wash is one of the first films about the Asian American family to have a theatrical release.
Mr. Gotanda is a musician and collaborates on musical works. His libretto for the opera Both Eyes Open with composer Max Duykers, about a Japanese American farmer and his wife, made its premiere in June 2022 at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco.
A CD of Mr. Gotanda performing his original songs in a 1980 concert with violinist DH Hwang is now available at Yokohama, Ca. Records. He wrote the oratorio for the Kent Nagano piece, Manzanar: An American Story, an orchestral work about the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. He is also working on music projects with composer Shinji Eshima and multi-instrumentalist David Coulter.
Mr. Gotanda holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law and studied pottery in Mashiko, Japan, with the late Hiroshi Seto. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim, TCG/Pew, Lila Wallace, as well as other honors and awards. Presently Mr. Gotanda is a professor with the Department of Theater Dance and Performance Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He resides at the Berkeley Art Plant in the Hills with his novelist-producer wife, Alameda Arts Commissioner Diane Emiko Takei and their pup.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
September 9 Bento
For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji for pickup on Friday, September 9 in conjunction with Movie Night. Here are Chef Yuji’s mouth-watering offerings:
- Buta Kimchi Bowl – $18
Pork Belly, stir fried kimchi vegetables and banchan seasonal vegetables over rice
- Cantonese Style Fish Bowl – $22
Chilean Sea bass steamed fish style with sweet soy, garlic, ginger and fresh choy sum with rice
To order, click on the button below to place your order.
Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, September 9th. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
To order: When you click on the button above, it will take you directly to a pop-up order form on the My Friend Yuji webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click anywhere inside the box frame to open another pop-up and select the number of bento you want to order, then click on “Add item” to close the pop-up. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order and click “Continue to payment” to sign in and pay for your order.
Support J-Sei At the Movies
Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies recently celebrated its third anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with educational and inspiring Japanese and Japanese American films. We are especially grateful for the up close and personal chats with filmmakers as we learn so much from the exchange.
We love having a growing and enthusiastic audience. You are the best! We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.
Japanese filmmaker Hideyuki Tokigawa began his career in Singapore working for Discovery Channel Asia as a producer/director. In 2001 he moved back to Tokyo to work at Walt Disney Television International, where he led the TV Production Unit as Senior Producer. He studied filmmaking at Vancouver Film School and continued to hone his craft under the guidance of acclaimed Japanese director Shunji Iwai, with whom he worked on the 2002 FIFA World Cup feature documentary. In 2009 Hideyuki founded TimeRiver Pictures to independently create feature documentaries, television commercials, music videos, and short films. He made his feature directorial debut in 2012 with RADIO LOVE, which received the Audience Choice Award at Cinema Verde and was distributed nationwide in Japan. In 2014 he wrote and directed CINEMA ANGEL, about the closing of a real-life movie theater that had existed for over 100 years; it won Best Director and Best Feature Film at the Montelupo Fiorentino Film Festival. In 2018, Hideyuki’s next project, HIROSHIMA CARP THEATER, a unique human drama related to baseball culture and the city of Hiroshima, screened at the Hiroshima International Film Festival and the Oniros Film Awards, where it received the Hiroshima Peace Award and the Best Feature Film Award, respectively. His most recent film is 2020’s DANCING IN HER DREAMS, based on the life of a strip club owner in Hiroshima, which enjoyed a successful festival run and was honored with a Jury Award at the Madrid International Film Festival.