Saturday, June 30, 2018

"Boys for Sale" awarded in Germany (UPDATE)!!!

***** UPDATE July 2, 2018*****

I have just received word from the Nachtschatten Film Festival about their 2018 Awards (unfortunately, I had to leave before the festival ended to attend the conference here in Tokyo on Saturday).  "Boys for Sale" received the award for Best Feature Film with the jury citation "for giving us insight into a world of sexworkers that share their experiences and dreams with us."

As the executive producer of the film, and on behalf of our entire team, especially director Itako, DOP/ producer Adrian "Uchujin" Storey, illustrator N Tani Studios and music composers Kazaguruma, I am extremely honoured and would like to thank the festival, their audiences and all of our supporters.

「売買ボーイズ」がドイツで行われたNachtschatten映画祭の長編部門でグランプリを受賞しました!本当に光栄に思っております。



***** END UPDATE *****

I returned home last night from two wonderful screenings of "Boys for Sale" (WEBSITE) at the Nachtschatten Film Festival in Germany (INFO).  Taking place at the iconic Werkstattkino cinema in Munich (WEBSITE), this niche festival screens films under the broad banner of BDSM/ Fetish (!); I previously wrote more about this world of niche festivals (HERE). 
Q&A with NACHTSCHATTEN festival organizer Tobias Fleischer
It was a wonderful homecoming of sorts as well, as the Werkstattkino held an Artist in the Focus series of several of my films over a week in 2015 (STORY) under the direction of programmer and dear friend Doris Kuhn.

While I was in Germany, the award we received for Best Feature Documentary at the 2017 Queer International Film Festival Playa del Carmen (STORY) arrived via Berlin (long story), so we promptly posted that to the social media of the film as well (TWEET).
And with no rest for the wicked, today I presented a lunchtime talk at the 22nd Annual Asian Studies Conference Japan at the invitation of Sophia University's Professor David H. Slater (PROGRAM).  Presenting clips from "Boys for Sale"and speaking about possible uses of the film in universities, this event was held ahead of our screening at Sophia University on July 6 (INFO).



In the evening, I stopped by a restaurant popular with foreign visitors to have dinner with friends where I spotted the July issue of Metropolis.  I had heard they were featuring the July 6 screening of "Boys for Sale" at Sophia, but I had not seen it yet (below).  Metropolis published a four-page feature about all of my film work this past December (READ).
This will be the only the second for this Japanese documentary to be screened here, so not only are we looking forward to it, but we are hoping to secure some form of wider distribution as well.

Thank you all so much for your continued support!

Peace,
Ian

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Update on "Boys" and other news

Another blog from the airport on the way to a film festival, this time to attend the Nachtschatten Film Festival (STORY) where the Munich Premier of "Boys for Sale" (WEBSITE) will take place. I am so grateful to have been a member of the team that made this documentary and for the amazing reception it has received across the world (AWARDS).

A few days ago "Boys for Sale" also had the honour of being featured in the International Documentary Association's list of 5 documentaries to watch for Pride Month (LINK)!

Meanwhile, I am extremely honored that "Orbiting in the Field: a Taidan (conversation) on Ecology and Filmmaking in Tohoku, Japan" (READ) was published in Duke University Press's Positions Asia Critique. This was four years in the making (!) and came to fruition through the hard work of my taidan partner Professor of Biology and renowned Chernobyl/ Fukushima researcher Timothy Mousseau and guest editors/ conference organizers Lisa Onaga & Harry Wu.  More about that conference in Singapore from four years ago is on my blog (HERE).

October 12, 2014
And my mail box held one other surprise with this week- a producer's gift from Shawn Lee Small, director of the award-winning documentary "Acres of Diamonds".  I am truly honoured to have been able to serve on the team of this amazing film as well (STORY).


Coming up on July 6, "Boys for Sale" will screen in Tokyo at Sophia University (INFO), and despite this Japanese film screening all over the world, this will be only the second time the film has screened in Japan; the first was last year's sold-out screening in Tokyo AIDS Week (STORY).
Time to head to the gate...

Thank you all so very much for support and encouragement over these many years.
Peace and gratitude,
Ian
Tokyo, Japan