Free Films on NGN On Demand - September 2009



For the entire month of September 2009, a selection of four films featured at HIFF 2007 & 2008 will be available free of charge on the NGN On Demand Channel 680. These films were part of our American Immigrant Filmmakers on Profile (AIFP) section during those past years, and sponsored by The Vilcek Foundation. Just pick the film you wish to watch from the "HIFF" category.

 

 

 

Film Descriptions and Trailers

THE GATEKEEPER OF ENMYOIN

When she is seven years old, Teijun Ogawa is given to a Shingon Buddhist temple. Cut off from her family, she becomes a rare niso (female priest) and, eventually, builds her own temple, Enmyoin, in rural Southwestern Japan. Over eighty years later, the proud niso shares her story with U.S.-based Japanese filmmaker, Reiko Tahara. Intrigued by Teijun's seemingly free spirit, Reiko looks to her for guidance as she reflects upon her own journey for freedom -- as an immigrant, a wife, and a mother (she is married to the film's co-producer and co-director, Max Uesugi). What she did not expect was that the niso steadfastly refused to share her view as a woman -- it's as if the subject is taboo -- and she dies before filming is complete. But perhaps she left a clue about how she really felt in her choice of successor.

2007 | 124 minutes
Directors: Kozo-Max Uesugi, Reiko Tahara
Cast: Seijun Baba, Shugen Baba, Teijun Ogawa, Zoshu Iwasaki

 

LONG STORY SHORT

 

LONG STORY SHORT PHOTO LONG STORY SHORT Trailer Coming Soon!

LONG STORY SHORT tells the story of Larry and Trudie Long, a popular husband-and-wife nightclub act of the '40s and '50s. Narrated and framed by the experiences of their daughter, actress Jodi Long, the film traces the couple's rise from the Chinatown nightclub circuit to a coveted appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. When Jodi is cast in the Broadway revival of "Flower Drum Song", a show in which her father performed in the original 40 years before, her parents find themselves revisiting a past they had buried long ago. Combining a family story with show business history and the ravages of racism, it is a story of pain, passion, and perseverance.

2008 | 53 minutes
Director: Christine Choy
Cast: Larry Long, Trudie Long, Jodi Long, Tzi Ma and David Henry

 

SOMEPLACE ELSE

For some, it is the pursuit of making a dream come true. For others, it is the one chance at taking a shot at documenting our lives in the city before parting with it. And for the rest, it was about learning something new, or being part of a project that would allow the use media we've all had interest for. Part musical documentary, part personal meditation, SOMEPLACE ELSE is the engaging portrait of a soul-blues-funk musician from the South Side of Chicago through the director's personal film journal. Weaving the narrative, photographic and lyrical content of the music in an unconventional and rhythmic way, this feature debut transforms the visual experience of a documentary into a fresh captivating journey of many facets.

2008 | 70 minutes
Director: Kai-duc Luong
Cast: Kai-duc Luong, Vance Kelly and The Backstreet Blues Band

 

 

VIETNAM OVERTURES

A chronology of the state of classical music in Vietnam, East meets West when a culture exchange program introduces a Norwegian music ensemble to Vietnam for the first time where they play a joint concert in Saigon with the city symphony orchestra.

2008 | 64 minutes
Director: Stephane Gauger
Cast: Geir Johnsen, Ingela Oien, Uta Maunsten