Fantasia presents the Solidarity with Japan Fundraiser - Next Saturday March 26th
Montreal, March 21st, 2011 – Following the terrible events that devastated the North-East of Japan and caused the displacement of thousands of victims, the Fantasia International Film Festival, with the support of Concordia University's Hall Theatre, is putting together a fundraising event with the screening of three Japanese films that were very successful at the festival, on Saturday March 26th from 4pm. Tickets will be available at the door from 3pm. This evening is meant as a celebration of Japanese popular culture and of its cinema, with films of different flavours where cheerfulness and humour prevail. The minimal contribution will be of 10$ per film and 100% of the revenues will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross, Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami Fund. Donors of 20$ and more will get a receipt for tax credits. Please pass the word!
The showcased films are Satoshi Miki's ADRIFT IN TOKYO, at 4 pm: A walking trip through a rarely filmed Tokyo, coming across singular characters. A beautiful and touching love letter to this city where charm, absurd humour and emotion meet. Tetsuya Nakashima's KAMIKAZE GIRLS at 7 pm: The improbable friendship between two young women and an incursion in the universe of Lolitas, a fashion trend ingrained in Japan's youth. Finally, Gen Sekiguchi's SURVIVE STYLE 5+ at 9:30 pm: Five bizarre stories with eccentric characters that intersect, made-in-Japan entertainment at its very best, unconventional, mad, over-the-top fun!
Before each screening, DJ XL5 will pay tribute to Japanese pop culture with three blocks of trailers, videos and excerpts from Japanese films.
Every 10$ contribution will give a chance to win one of numerous door prizes that will be raffled throughout the event. Alliance Vivafilm, Anchor Bay Entertainment, la Boite Noire, Bonsound, Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Centre, Cinéma du Parc, Dare to Care Records, eOne Films, Evokative Films, Festival Spasm, FunFilms Distribution, K-Films Amérique, Maple Pictures, Metropole Films Distribution, Panorama Cinéma, Rue Morgue Magazine, Le Septième Videoclub, Sérigraphie Cinqunquatre and Ubisoft have already rallied up to partner with the event by offering DVDs, film passes, CDs, books, prints and video games. A grand prize of a Fantasia VIP pass, giving access to every single screenings of the Festival's next edition and which is not available on sale, will be raffled at some point during the event. A solidarity call has already been placed amongst some of Quebec's filmmakers, to which Robin Aubert, Philippe Falardeau and Éric Tessier have already enthusiastically replied by offering signed DVD copies of their film À QUELLE HEURE LE TRAIN POUR NULLE PART, C'EST PAS MOI, J'LE JURE and 5150 RUE DES ORMES. A testimonial by Robin Aubert will be read before the first presentation. Many other sponsor contributions will be confirmed and announced over the next days on the Facebook Event created for the occasion (http://tinyurl.com/FantasiaSolidarityJapanFB) and on twitter (@FantasiaFest).
