SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW SCREENING followed by a Q&A session with the film's writer-director, Momoko Ando

TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2010. 7:00 P.M. 20th floor

Japan, 2009. 107 minutes

Directed and written by Momoko Ando
Produced by Sakura Momoyama, Keiko Watanabe
Starring Hikari Mitsushima, Eriko Nakamura, Tasuku Nagaoka

Film courtesy of Pictures Department

In Japanese, with English subtitles

The Movie Committee is pleased to present Kakera: A Piece of our Life ahead of its theatrical release in Japan on April 3. Kakera also opens in London on the same day, marking the first such simultaneous release ever for a Japanese film.

Kakera is the vibrant debut feature of Momoko Andô, one of Japan's most exciting new female filmmakers. A delicate and humorous exploration of sexuality and youth, the film follows the relationship between Haru (Mitsushima), a college student with an indifferent boyfriend, and Riko (Nakamura), a bisexual medical artist who makes prosthetic body parts. After their chance meeting in a coffee shop, Haru and Riko begin a tentative relationship that soon becomes all-encompassing, but not quite all-fulfilling. Based on the best-selling manga Love Vibes by Erika Sakurazawa, and featuring a soundtrack by James Iha, former guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins, Kakera is a nuanced portrait of love, friendship, identity and gender, illuminating the intensity and confusion of the journey toward maturity.

At its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London last autumn, Kakera was met with rave reviews for its "effervescent" handling of the relationship between two young women as they "partly fumble - and partly hurdle - towards adulthood."
Stockholm Film Festival Director Git Scheynius called it a "mesmerizing debut with delicate performances… low key, yet powerful." Kakera was also selected to screen at the Glasgow Film Festival and the Kinotayo Film Festival in Paris, where it received the Beautiful Cinemascope Award.

Writer-director Momoko Andô, a graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art in London, is the daughter of actor / director Eiji Okuda and essayist Kazu Ando, and the sister of rising actress Sakura Ando (Love Exposure, Ain’t No Tomorrows).

A picnic dinner is available at a cost of 1,365 yen (including beverage, popcorn and tax) for those who wish to eat right before the film begins. Please choose between Picnic A Sandwich (Tandoori Spiced Chicken Wrap with Cucumber Raita, Bean Sprouts, Coriander, Red Onion & Salad) or Picnic B Sandwich (Grilled Eggplant, Zucchini, Roast Peppers, Mozzarella, Rocket & Pesto on Baguette). To help us plan proper seating and food preparation, please reserve by noon on the day of the screening at the FCCJ Reception Desk (3211-3161)3211-3161. Please pick up your ticket at the front desk from 6:30 P. M. before collecting your picnic and beverage choice at the lobby bar. Cancellations received after noon on the day of the screening will be charged in full.

You may attend the film without ordering a picnic dinner. Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk (3211-3161) to allow for seating arrangements.

All movie screenings are private, noncommercial events restricted to FCCJ members and their guests.

Karen Severns, Edwin Karmiol, Movie Committee