ACF 981: "The Taste of Tea screening in S.F. for Japanese earthquake relief

NEW PEOPLE TO RAISE ADDITIONAL FUNDS
FOR JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI RELIEF
WITH A SPECIAL SCREENING OF
THE TASTE OF TEA

Acclaimed Film By Director Katsuhito Ishii
Offers A Gentle Cinematic Portrait Tackling
Universal Themes Of Time, People
And The Fabric Of Family Relationships

NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, has announced a second film screening event to raise additional funds for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief. THE TASTE OF TEA, director Katsuhito Ishii’s critically acclaimed and award-winning film about Japanese family life, will screen at NEW PEOPLE on Sunday April 17th at 3:30pm. Suggested donations are $10.00 or more per person. NEW PEOPLE is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown at 1746 Post St.

Proceeds from the screening will be donated directly to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, administered by JCCCNC and Union Bank in San Francisco’s Japantown. More information on the screening and the work of this relief organization is available at: www.newpeopleworld.com.

NEW PEOPLE raised more than $5,000.00 for relief efforts with its earlier screening of HULA GIRLS in March, just following the disaster. The heartwarming film is set in Fukushima prefecture, site of the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that was heavily damaged during the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.


THE TASTE OF TEA is based in a rural town surrounded by the natural beauty of Tochigi, Japan, an area that was also heavily damaged by the recent earthquake. The film introduces audiences to the Harunos, a rather unconventional but happy and loving family. They live in a small town in the mountains, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own dramas, quirks and little problems.

As 8-year old Sachiko (Maya Banno) tries to get rid of a giant version of herself who seems to pop up everywhere, her older brother Hajime (Takahiro Sato), privately wrestles with his love-struck heart. Meanwhile, their mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is working hard, coming out of retirement as an animator, as her husband and professional hypnotist Nobuo (Tomokazu Miura) watches on with slight apprehension. Even Nobuo’s brother and successful manga artist Todoroki has his problems. And lastly there’s Grandpa, the most bizarre and perhaps the most perceptive of all, who continues to search for a better way to live life to the full.

THE TASTE OF TEA has been called a surreal version of Ingmar Bergman's “Fanny and Alexander,” and presents a heartwarming and visually rich homage to Japanese family life. The film had its international debut at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and won numerous awards at the 2004 Entrevues Film Festival, 2005 Montreal Fantasia Film Festival, 2005 New York Asian Film Festival, 2005 San Francisco Independent Film Festival and the 2005 Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film.

THE TASTE OF TEA is also available on DVD from NEW PEOPLE Entertainment.

About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (www.newpeopleworld.com) offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan through its unique entertainment destination as well as through licensing and distribution of selective Japanese films. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment (www.newpeopleent.com), a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the "Kingdom of Pop" for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, GANTZ, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, and THE TASTE OF TEA.