Déjà Vu Cities (Japan)
Director: Atsushi Funahashi
Producer: Atsushi Funahashi
Production: Village Productions
Screenplay: Atsushi Funahashi,Kevin Lee
Genre: Drama Shooting Material: HD Cam Length: 100 min
Stage of script: Draft
Production Budget: 1,000,000 USD (100,000,000 JPY)
Finance in place:30%
Business Partner Involved: Shozo Ichiyama, Office Kitano
Seeking: Co-producer, Territory Buyer, Sponsor
Déjà Vu Cities
Synopsis:
An Afghan immigrant girl's disappearance in New York and a Japanese singer's turbulent romance in Beijing are united by mysterious moments of déjà vu.
"Déjà Vu Cities" is a global love story of two women searching for their destiny in opposite ends of the world. In New York, Sonja, an Afghan teen, runs away from her emotionally unstable father and explores the city's nightlife with her upper-class boyfriend Jason. But when Sonja becomes pregnant, her life becomes a surreal landscape of desperation. Jason encourages her to get an abortion and gradually distances himself from her. In Beijing, two years later. Elise, an expatriate Japanese singer, performs in a failing nightclub run by her lover Ohgaki. Bitter over Ohgaki's coldness after he finds out her pregnancy, Elise escapes from the nightclub and meets Dao Ming, the charismatic leader of a Chinese underground rap group. Their attraction echoes with a similar moment between Sonja and Jason, creating doubt over their destiny: will Elise suffer the same fate? This déj à vu feeling combine the fragments of unconnected lives into a unified emotion, leaving the viewer with a unique vision of the world.
Director's Statement:
In this globalized world, more people than ever are migrating from one nation to another. With this displacement comes alienation, to the point that people feel like outsiders wherever they go, like floating weeds on water. "Déjà Vu Cities" is a movie about this modern condition of life, and how the sensation of déjà vu can create a mysterious, almost psychic sense of belonging in an otherwise disconnected world.
By featuring New York and Beijing, the opposite poles of the world now, "Déjà Vu Cities" aspire to capture universal love stories which can appeal to the worldwide audience. The main casts are Japanese, Chinese, and French, which can boost borderless interest and the film would be well-received not only in Japanese market, but also the entire Asian and European one. We'd like to create a broadly-accepted international hit.
Director's Biography
Atsushi Funahashi is from Osaka, Japan. His debut feature Eechoes won three Jury & Audience Awards at Annonay International Film Festival, France. His 2nd film Big River was premiered at Berlin Film Festival & Pusan's New Current Competition, then released in Japan, Korea, France, and in the US. (World Sales: Celluroid Dreams) Atsushi has also directed several TV documentaries and won Telly Award with The Joyful Moment of Life-- Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease.
Production Company and Producer:
Village Productions
Village Productions is a New York based production company focused on creating and producing original motion pictures and television programs. Founded in 1999 by Atsushi Funahashi, Alyssa Jo Black and Eric Van Den Brulle, Village Productions aspires to the highest level of compelling storytelling in its productions and is dedicated to creating films characterized by significant artistic merit and broad commercial appeal.
Producer
Atsushi independently produced Echoes (2001) and originated & developed Big River(2005) which was selected for Berlinale Co-Production Market, Pusan Promotional Plan (PPP) and New York's IFP Project Involve. After completion, it was premiered at Berlinale's Forum section in 2006. Currently Atsushi is producing a new film called Deep In the Valley (drama, 120 min, Japan). It is in post-production and will be released in 2009.
Producer's works:
Deep In The Valley
(Dir: Atsushi Funahashi, 2008, 4,000,000(JPY), Drama, Japan, Village Productions)
Never Forget the Day--5 Year Commemoration of 9.11
(Dir: Atsushi Funahashi, 2006, 10,000,000(JPY), Documentary, Japan=USA, NHK Enterprises America)
Big River
(Project Development& Casting. Dir: Atsushi Funahashi, 2005, 100,000,000(JPY), Drama, Japan=USA, Office Kitano)
The Joyful Moment of Life--Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease
(Telly Award Silver Prize. Dir: Atsushi Funahashi, 2005, 5,000,000(JPY), Documentary, Japan=USA, NHK Enterprises America)
Echoes (Dir: Atsushi Funahashi, 2001, 3,000,0000(JPY), Documentary, Japan=USA, NHK Enterprises America)
Contact:
Village Productions
Add:2-33-12-107, Nezu, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0031, JAPAN
Tel:+81-3-3821-3345
Fax: +81-3-3821-3345
Email: james@j-ent.com.tw
Web: www.j-ent.com.tw/sales
