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Our Story
??? shinsedai [sh?ns?d?], trans. New Generation
The Toronto Star has called The Shinsedai Cinema Festival "one of the city's youngest and most original movie events". Conceived by programmers Chris MaGee (The J-Film Pow-Wow) and Jasper Sharp (Midnight Eye), The Shinsedai Cinema Festival is an annual showcase of the best in new, independent Japanese films. Our goal is to expand and challenge people's ideas of what films from Japan are and can be, and to support the new generation of independent filmmaking talent from Japan. Since our inaugural offering in 2009 we have been been honoured to have for premiered such films as Gen Takahashi's Confessions of a Dog, Masahide Ichii's Naked of Defenses and Tokachi Tsuchiya's A Normal Life, Please! in Canada. For our 4th offering, taking place between July 12th and July 15th, 2012, The Shinsedai Festival will be moving to a new location -- The Revue Cinema, one of Toronto's premiere repertory theatres at the heart of the city's vibrant Roncesvalles Village. It's an exciting time, but one in which we need your help more than ever.
The Impact
The films featured at The Shinsedai Cinema Festival are made by people like you -- people who are passionate about filmmaking, but in many cases, can't do what they love full time. They support their filmmaking careers by working a variety of jobs; and those who are lucky enough to work full time at filmmaking still face huge obstacles. Without the benefits from the kind of government granting systems that filmmakers in North America can draw on, Japanese independent filmmakers are entirely on their own. Even when they have completed a project their avenues to get it seen by audiences are limited. As of this year there are only 25 to 30 independent movie theatres operating in Japan. That's 25-30 in the entire country! That why overseas events like The Shinsedai Cinema Festival are so important.
What Will My Money Go Towards?
The $7,000 raised for The Shinsedai Cinema Festival through IndieGoGo will not only go towards guest relations costs (food, beverages, sightseeing, etc.), but most importantly to pay for roundtrip airfare for our Japanese guests to come and attend the festival. The cost of round trip airfare (approximately $1,600 to $2,400) from Tokyo to Toronto is a huge expense for a struggling independent filmmaker, so the chance for guests to come and personally present their films to a Toronto audience is a huge opportunity.
All we need are 300 film fans to donate $20 each. That's just the cost of one night out at the movies with a bag of popcorn, or the purchase of a single DVD! Those of you who are in the position to donate more are invited to do so, and you will either be able enjoy special perks in exchange, such as free passes for our 2012 festival, OR you can choose to receive a tax deductible receipt for the amount of your donation. Regardless of the amount you are able to give all backers of the 4th annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival will be given personal thanks as "Friends of the Festival" on our website and in our printed festival program.
Learn More About The Shinsedai Cinema Festival... and Spread the Word!
You can learn more about The Shinsedai Cinema Festival by visiting our website shinsedai.ca. You can also follow us on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook. And PLEASE help spread the word about our 2012 Fundraising Campaign!
If you have any questions please direct them to shinsedaifest@gmail.com
