Issue:
May 2022
Join the Film Committee
Join us on Wednesday, May 11 at 6 pm for the award-winning Gensan Punch, based on the inspiring true story of a disabled Japanese boxer who journeys to the Philippines in pursuit of the career that he’s been denied at home. Directed by acclaimed Filipino auteur Brillante Ma Mendoza (Kinatay, Ma’ Rosa), the film was brought to fruition by its star, Shogen. The prolific actor (Death Note, Detective Chinatown 3) felt that boxer Naozumi Tsuchiyama’s tale of triumph over adversity deserved to be told, and with producer Takahiro Yamashita (Smokin’ on the Moon) convinced Mendoza to sign on for his first-ever sports film. In his inimitable documentary-like style, Mendoza has beautifully blended Nao’s story with that of the scrappy local fighters, trainers and coaches in General Santos City, Mindanao (from which “Gensan” is derived), resulting in an intimate portrait of an impoverished, tightly knit community of strivers and believers. Gensan Punch world premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, where it won the Kim Ji-seok Award and was picked up as an HBO Asia Original. Yamashita will join Shogen at the Q&A session. (Gensan Punch, Philippines/Japan, 2022, 111 minutes, in Japanese, Tagalog, English, Visayan with English/Japanese subtitles).
Karen Severns is chair of the FCCJ Film Committee
