Sneak Preview Screening: "SCHOOLGIRL APOCALYPSE (Seirafuku Mokushiroku)" followed by a Q&A session with writer-director John Cairns and producer Yukie Kito

Wednesday, August 24 7 pm 20th floor

Japan, 2011 86 minutes

Writer-Director: John Cairns
Produced by: Yukie Kito
Executive Producers: Daniel Isaacsen and Yojiro Suzuki
Cast: Higarino, Mai Tsujimoto, Max Mackenzie

Film courtesy of Lantis

In Japanese with English subtitles

The Movie Committee continues testing new cinematic waters. Following our first-ever screening of a pink film in July, we have been emboldened to present our first-ever "social commentary on gender, race and language all effectively disguised as a zombie-horror film," as critic Jongsuk Thomas Nam put it. The news value? It features an award-winning producer working with an American director and bi-national cast in Japan, it world-premiered last month to great acclaim at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, and even more importantly, it is a genre film. The dirty little secret about international distribution deals for Japanese films is that genre sells best: sex and violence transcend language barriers, thus promising higher profits than even an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Besides, if Japan's traditional ghost stories send a delicious shiver down your spine, join us for "Schoolgirl Apocalypse." It's sure to send the summer heat screaming from the room.

A Japanese schoolgirl, Sakura (Higarino), finds her average life in a small town turned inside out when all the males start attacking and killing females. With few skills, and only her kyudo bow and an English textbook in her survival kit, Sakura sets out on a journey through a dark world of mayhem. The trauma of witnessing the murders of her friends and family gradually drives her toward madness, and she begins taking refuge in an animated dreamworld. There she meets a foreign boy, Billy (Mackenzie), who helps her narrowly escape death until she can find him in the real world. But she also finds her most formidable foe yet, Aoi (Tsujimoto), a woman who seems programmed to kill. Why is all this happening, and who or what is behind it? Sakura must overcome her fear-and get her hands really bloody dirty-to find the answers.

"Schoolgirl Apocalypse" opens later this year in Japan, but you can see it at FCCJ first.

Born in New Orleans, writer-director John Cairns has lived and worked as a writer, director and producer for commercial and independent film and video productions in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He holds an MFA degree in film production from Syracuse University, and also studied film theory at the Paris Center for Critical Studies, Sorbonne. Cairns has lived in Tokyo for 15 years, and is a director at Lantis KK. This is his feature debut.

Producer Yukie Kito is an independent producer with credits that include Ethan Hawke's "The Hottest State," which premiered at the 2006 Venice International Film Festival, Wayne Wang's "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers," which won Best Film at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Tokyo Sonata," which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard Section and the Best Picture at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. She is currently producing Seijun Suzuki's "A Sense of Honey."

Please join Mr. Cairns and Ms. Kito, as well as the stars of the film, for a glass of wine and light snacks at our Meet the Filmmakers Cocktail Party, from 6:00 – 6:55 pm. The cocktail party is 1,260 yen (incl. tax). Space is limited to the first thirty (30) people to sign up at the FCCJ Reception Desk (3211-3161). On August 24, please pick up your ticket at the front desk from 6:00 pm, and join us in the Anteroom.

Cancellations received after noon on the day of the screening will be charged in full.

You may attend the film without attending the cocktail party. 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