Editor

The 1st annual LA EigaFest will take place from Friday, November 11th to Sunday, November 13th, at the Mann Chinese 6 Theatres at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles.

The festival will showcase the latest and greatest in Japanese shorts and feature films, opening with Milocrorze: A Love Story (2011) from Director Yoshimasa Ishibashi and ending with Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 3D (2011) by the legendary Takashi Miike!

"We're very proud to host our first film festival at the Chinese Theatres. 'Eiga' means 'Film' in Japanese and was chosen to be included in the name of the film festival. Our wish is that 'Eiga' will become an iconic Japanese-English phrase in the way that 'Manga' and 'Anime' represent specific visions of modern Japanese art and culture," says Hayato Mitsuishi, president and co-founder of the Japan Film Society.

Director Yoshimasa Ishibashi and Milokuroze's star Takayuki Yamada will be on-hand for an exclusive Q&A session for attendees to the Friday, November 11th screening, followed by an opening night gala at the Highlands Hollywood. See full schedule below for details!

The festival will close on Sunday with a ceremony to present the grand prize for a short film competition which will also be part of the weekend's events. EigaFest will additionally play host to a Japan/Hollywood Co-Production Panel in collaboration with the Asia Society on Saturday, November 12th, held at the Renaissance Hotel and Spa, located beside the Theatre. Tickets will be sold via the website, www.laeigafest.com.

SCHEDULE AND DETAILS:

LA EigaFest Press Junket with Director Yoshimasa Ishibashi and Actor Takayuki Yamada, Mr. Hideaki Ibuki

Friday, November 11th, 4:00pm

Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa (Mt. Olympus Conference Room), 1755 N. Highland Ave. Hollywood, CA 90028

Please RSVP to Press Contact Ms. Ikuko Takano at ikukotakano@japanfilmsociety.org no later than Friday, November 4th.

Opening Ceremonies & Premiere Screening of Milocrorze: A Love Story

Friday, November 11th, 2011

• 6:00pm: Red Carpet Opens
• 7:30pm: Film Begins
• 9:30pm: Q&A with Director Yoshimasa Ishibashi and Actor Takayuki Yamada

Mann Chinese 6, Theatre #1, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028

Opening Night Gala

Friday, November 11th, 2011, 10:30pm – 1:30am

The Highlands Hollywood, 6801 Hollywood Blvd #433

**A FULL SCHEDULE WITH SPECIFIC SCREENINGS AND TIMES THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE, www.laeigafest.com**

ABOUT THE OPENING NIGHT FILM:

Milocrorze: A Love Story (2011, Directed by Yoshimasa Ishibashi)

No Japanese movie this year can kick off our festival in Hollywood style better than the opening night film from visionary Writer-Director Yoshimasa Ishibashi (Vermillion Pleasure Nights, 2000), one of the most kinetic and visually innovative Japanese talents of the last several years. Less a meditation than a psychedelic romp on love, Milocrorze is a story containing three tales of romance: the first, a coming-of-age morsel about a young boy colorfully smitten with an older gal; the second, a pop musical featuring a television personality pick-up-artist who dispenses advice to his hapless clientele through song and dance; and the third, an extensive cyberpunk-tinged chambara (sword-action) featuring a one-eyed samurai fighting to rescue his kidnapped lover. All three protagonists are played by Takayuki Yamada, who connects the three stories, however loosely, through his humor and performative pyrotechnics. This is the Japanese film that people and festivals have been buzzing about all year: full of catchy dance sequences, scantily clad women, eye-popping colors, and quite possibly the greatest one-take, slow-motion swordfight ever filmed,Milocrorze is a wildly imaginative and inventive ride.

Watch the trailer on Twitch.com: http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/08/milocrorze-a-love-story-trailer.php

"Aesthetically, Milocrorze is a work of art, with art direction that would make Willy Wonka's eyes pop out." – Sound on Sight

ABOUT THE JAPAN FILM SOCIETY

The Japan Film Society, is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization established in 2009 with the goal of introducing and promoting Japanese cinema to the general American audience. We have held a number of screenings and film events in the Los Angeles area. The LA EigaFest is our first film festival and we hope that it will become a major platform here in the United States for Japanese films and filmmakers.

A portion of the proceeds from the LA EigaFest will go to disaster relief efforts for the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.