Date & Time : 8pm (EST) on Saturday, December 5th, 2020
Thank you for joining us!
Due to the pandemic this year, the Boston Japan Film Festival decided to team up with Boston Japan Festival to make this ‘virtual’ event more enjoyable.
- Schedule -
8:00pm Opening with 10th Anniversary celebration messages
8:20pm Screening of OFUKU4 -separation-
8:45pm Screening of Nourishing Japan
9:10pm Live discussion about Japan, food education and
cross-cultural passion with Alexis Agaliano Sanborn,
Director of Nourishing Japan and Debra Samuels,
Wa-shokuiki
9:40pm Screening of Future is MINE -Ainu My Voice-
10:00pm Live talk back with Chuk Besher, Executive Producer,
followed by Q&A
- Lineup -
OFUKU4 -separation-
Japan / 2019 / 15 min / Drama
Sayoko Akutsu
Ofuku has been searching for her mother since the Edo era 360 years ago.
Strong faith in her mother’s words made OFUKU live over her life-span as a human being. After parting with her mother, OFUKU, with love and sorrow, had been a wanderer. Over time, the feelings for her mother have made OFUKU grow herself, to a funny, laughable, and entertaining person.
Nourishing Japan
USA / 2020 / 25 min / Documentary
Alexis Agliano Sanborn
Embark on a delicious journey from farmer’s field to school classroom that celebrates how one country has reimagined school lunch and food education. At the heart of Japan’s 2005 Food Education Law are the incredible people whose daily work nourishes the next generation’s relationship to food, the earth, and one another.
Future is MINE - AINU MY VOICE -
Japan / 2020 / 20 min / Documentary
Daichi Tomida
Portrays the growth of a woman who carves out her future through the journey. The traveler is Rie Kayano of Ainu. Born in Ainu with a mission, she visits a Native American tribe, Seminole, which builds its own culture. She tries to find a path she should take and move forward.
- Discussion & Producer Interview-
We’ll have a discussion of Alexis Agliano Sanborn, Producer & Director of “Nourishing Japan" and Debra Samuels, lead curriculum and content developer for “Wa-Shokuiku".
Also,We’ll have a Producer Interview to Chuk Besher, Executive Producer of “Future is MINE - AINU MY VOICE”.
Q & A session will be held after each discussion and interview too.
- Guests-
Alexis Agliano Sanborn
Alexis Agliano Sanborn is an independent researcher, food advocate, nature enthusiast, and an award-winning artist. With over a decade of experience studying Japanese culture, she directed/produced Nourishing Japan, a documentary short which explores food education and the school lunch system in Japan. Alexis also serves as co-host of Season by Season, a podcast which celebrates and re-forges our connection to nature and the passage of time. Alexis previously served as NYC Program Coordinator of the Wa-Shokuiku Project, an after-school culinary exchange program inspired and informed by the educational philosophy, flavors, and foods of Japan. She received her Bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies and Japanese from UC Santa Barbara (2008), a Master's in Regional Studies of East Asia from Harvard University (2013) and a Masters of Public Administration from New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (2020). She serves on the board of the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra and steering committee on the Washington Heights & Inwood Food Council in upper Manhattan.
Debra Samuels
Debra Samuels leads the program content and curriculum development of TABLE FOR TWO USA’s Japanese inspired food education program, “Wa-Shokuiku -Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!”.
She was a food writer and contributor to the Food Section of The Boston Globe and has authored two cookbooks: “My Japanese Table,” and “The Korean Table.” Samuels curated the exhibit, “Obento and Built Space:Japanese Boxed Lunch and Architecture,” at the Boston Architectural College (2015) and co-curated “Objects of Use and Beauty: Design and Craft in Japanese Culinary Tools,”at the Fuller Craft Museum (2018).
Debra worked as a program coordinator in the Japan department and an exhibition developer at the Children's Museum, Boston (1992-2000).
She has lived in Japan, all together, for 12 years and specializes in Japanese cuisine. She travels around the country and abroad teaching hands on workshops on obento, the Japanese lunchbox. During Covid 19 she is teaching live online cooking programs to youth and adults.
Chuk Besher
Executive Producer, 3Minute Inc.
Born in Kobe, Japan, Besher is a Japanese citizen of Russian Descentーa son on of stateless Russian refugee parents who immigrated to Japan from China after WWⅡ.
Most recently, Besher is the creator/executive producer of an award-winning documentary seriesーFuture is MINEーfeaturing Japanese women in their journey of self-empowerment. Current film, Ainu My Voice, has been awarded by multiple international film festival including; Short Shorts Film Festival, Association of All-Japan Television Production Companies (ATP), and Japan Connects Hollywood.
Besher has a broad range of experience in communication and government—spanning careers in politics, marketing, broadcasting, and government relations. Most recently, Besher was in charge of communication planning for the Olympics and FIFA World Cup as well public affairs and sustainability at Coca-Cola Japan. Besher is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs—where he received a graduate degree in East Asian Studies and Communication. Besher’s publications include books in Japanese, Japan and the World Seen from Columbia University, and Corporate Crisis Management. Besher is a columnist for Tokyo Headline. Besher currently works for Japan’s leading IT firm, GREE, where he is involved in its Media and Advertising business, and also serves as Executive Producer for 3Minute Inc, a media and content marketing comapany. Besher lives in Tokyo, with his wife Yuki, and two sons Noah (11), and Luka (9).