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New movie night subgroup for DVD lending & discussion
Next meeting on Zoom – Sep 24 at 4pm
RSVP here (put “J-Sei K-Drama” in the subject line)
We will discuss:
- Miss Night and Day, a Korean series currently on Netflix;
- Recommendations for K-dramas or movies;
- Continue our study of Korean history;
- Pachinko season 2 has started on Apple+, which we will discuss in future (you might also want to rewatch season 1).
Also:
- We are starting a subgroup devoted just to BTS! If interested in joining, please let Jane know (use RSVP link above).
- Don’t forget: you can borrow a DVD. The list (see below) keeps growing!
New pilot program to share DVDs and discuss
J-Sei Movie Night members have been asking for a way to share their favorite films and learn about movies and TV shows that are available. During this long pandemic, it seems more important than ever to share our resources and make sure everyone is connecting and flourishing.
In that spirit, we’re initiating a program so that DVDs can circulate to interested folks. At the same time, we’re providing a forum for discussion and feedback, to discuss films, TV shows, and any other media of interest. We’ve also expanded our project to include other Asian and American films and TV dramas in addition to Japanese films and programs.
J-Sei is hosting a series of Zoom meetings to talk about topics of interest. First up is K-dramas: what folks have enjoyed and are currently watching and what makes K-dramas so compelling. The first discussion was held in January 2022. The K-drama genre has proven to be so popular that it is continuing as an ongoing group meeting for fans, both beginners and aficionados!
Take a look at the spreadsheet below. It shows a list of Korean TV dramas available for borrowing; there’s a separate sheet listing Japanese and Japanese American DVDs as well (if you’re interested, please let us know). The sheet shows series title/alternative title, year, synopsis, user ratings, and more. (Titles that are currently loaned out are highlighted in blue.) This resource list has been growing over time to include hundreds of DVDs of all kinds.
If you would like to borrow one or more items on the spreadsheet, please contact Jane Tanamachi (janetanama@yahoo.com). Please be sure to put “J-Sei DVD” in the subject line of your email.
All are welcome to participate — by borrowing or lending a DVD or by adding your feedback and ideas to our ongoing community chat.
Happy Viewing!
J-Sei At the Movies: A Movie Watch Party!
J-Sei At the Movies 4th anniversary watch party
Friday, December 10, 6:30 pm via Zoom
Can you believe it’s been four years of J-Sei Movie Night — and counting! Please help us celebrate with our dedicated group of movie lovers. We’ll look back over the past year of programs, and also we’ll welcome your ideas for future possibilities in 2022. Hopefully next year we can start to have more events in person and/or hybrid (fingers crossed).
As part of the evening’s festivities, we will watch a film together via livestream (film tbd). While watching, feel free to comment in real time in Chat. After the film, we’ll have a short discussion too. Please join the (virtual) party!
RSVP with “Dec Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
December 10 Bento
For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji. Here are this month’s special movie night offerings:
- Chirashi (mixed cured sashimi fish over akazu shari seasoned rice — will have some type of shellfish and sesame seeds) $40, +$10 to add uni
- Karaage & Potato Sarada (chicken karaage, cabbage & Japanese potato salad) $15
Click on the button below to place your order.
You can pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, December 10th. 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 is celebrating its fourth anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with 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 welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for your good energy and support!
J-Sei At the Movies: Bringing Japanese American History to Light
J-Sei At the Movies with Special Guests Sharon Yamato and Clement Hanami
Friday, November 19, 6:30 pm via Zoom
Technology brings together past and present from near and far as we welcome special guests Sharon Yamato and Clement Hanami joining us from Southern California to discuss their modern, innovative depictions of the Japanese American experience. In particular, we’ll learn about A Life in Pieces, currently on exhibit in three video modalities at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, and Sharon’s 2012 documentary, A Flicker in Eternity. Both vividly relate the tragically short life of a young Nisei named Stanley Hayami who at age 16 was incarcerated in Heart Mountain with his family, and who three years later was killed in Italy while serving as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. We will share special video presentations, including two of Sharon’s short films, that you will not want to miss. Please join us.
RSVP with “Nov Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
About Our Guests
SHARON YAMATO is a writer and filmmaker who produced and directed the documentary films Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn; A Flicker in Eternity; and Moving Walls, the latter based on her book Moving Walls: Preserving the Barracks of America’s Concentration Camps. With Nonny de la Peña she created A Life in Pieces and has also served as a consultant for the Japanese American National Museum. She has written articles for the Los Angeles Times and is currently a columnist for the Rafu Shimpo. She graduated cum laude from UCLA with bachelors and masters degrees in English.
CLEMENT HANAMI is Vice President of Exhibitions and Art Director at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and has been with the Museum since it opened in 1992. He is primarily responsible for the design, installation, fabrication, and maintenance of the Museum’s major exhibits. Clement received his MFA from UCLA in Studio Art with a specialization in New Genres and has exhibited his work in California, New York, and Washington D.C. He was recently selected as one of Art Matters Foundation 2021 Artist2Artist Fellows.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
We can’t believe we are already into November. We will not have a bento offering in the month of November. We encourage all to partake in the Harvest Celebration Lunch To-Go on November 12th.
And SAVE THE DATE for our J-Sei Movie Night Anniversary on Friday, December 10th. We will have food and fun to toast the year!
See you at the movies!
Support J-Sei At the Movies
Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies will soon be celebrating its fourth anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with 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 welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for your good energy and support!
Let’s Go to the Movies with Filmmaker Cellin Gluck
J-Sei At the Movies: Meet Filmmaker Cellin Gluck
Friday, October 15, 2021 – 6:30 pm on Zoom
J-Sei’s filmmaker series continues online with a special guest appearance by writer-producer-director Cellin Gluck, who will discuss his decades-long career in film production. Growing up in Japan and currently based in Los Angeles, Cellin has worked as assistant director on several blockbuster films and as director of such feature-length films as Saidoweizu/Sideways (2009), the Japanese adaptation of the American original set in California wine country, and Persona Non Grata (2015), the real-life story of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who at the start of World War II defied his government and issued transit visas to save 6,000 Jewish refugees in Lithuania. Please join us for what will surely be a fascinating conversation and evening.
RSVP with “Oct Movie Night” in the subject line. You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
About the Filmmaker
CELLIN GLUCK was born in Wakayama prefecture to American parents Jay and Sumi Gluck. He spent his “formative years” in Japan, except for three years in Iran, where his archaeologist father and textile historian mother’s work took the family.
After graduating high school from the Canadian Academy in Kobe, Cellin moved to the US and attended the Claremont Colleges, graduating from Pitzer College with honors from the Pomona College Theatre Department.
Growing up in Japan with a Jewish New Yorker father and a Japanese American mother from California (via wartime “relocation” in Rohwer, AR), Cellin has used his bicultural heritage to its fullest, spending the majority of his career to date in film production with a particular emphasis on Japan.
While he has specialized in producing/directing U.S.–Japan co-productions for most of his career, Cellin has also worked as an assistant director on Hollywood productions, such as Transformers (2007), Remember the Titans (2000), and Contact (1997), and as production manager on films like Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Godzilla (2014). He also directed the U.S. portion for Lorelei (2005) and the non-Japanese segments for the 20th Century Boys trilogy (2008-2009). In 2009, he made his debut as a film director with Saidoweizu/Sideways (2009), then co-wrote and co-directed Oba: The Last Samurai (2011). Persona Non Grata (2015) is his most recent feature film.
Recently Cellin has turned his eye toward directing for television. In 2018 he was selected as a director fellow for the CBS Directing Initiative, completing the program the following year; and again in 2019 as a director finalist in the NBC Emerging Director Program. He served as a co-chair of the Asian American Committee at the Directors Guild of America through 2020, of which he has been a member since 1992.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
October 15 Bento
For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji. Here are this month’s special movie night offerings:
- Chūkadon (stir-fried rice bowl with mushrooms, bamboo, cabbage, carrots, onions, jidori egg, pork, shrimp and sauce over rice) $18;
- Tenshinhan (imitation and real crab omelette with sauce over rice) $18
Click on the button below to place your order.
You can pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, October 15th. 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.