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12.Mar.2011
March 12, 11:50AM
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12.Mar.2011
Gathered usuful info. for English speakers.
Live streaming of NHK (English):
http://bit.ly/7SgVuI
Live coverage of earthquake and links of many services/information here:
http://j.mp/h2M10w
Google: Real time earthquake information:
http://bit.ly/dLFEM3
FON (FREE wifi now):
http://bit.ly/fsC8PR
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12.Mar.2011
EARTHQUAKE situation in JAPAN
Thank you for all the message,
I am fine here in Miura Peninsula.
It was reported that we would have big TSUNAMI’s
but actually it was about less than 1M that reached to our beach.
We have evacuated to a near park on the hill but came back very soon.
Most of the power is down in this area all throught the night,
but miraclly, my apartment was ok with power and water, but telephone lines were out.
Especially northern pacific area of Japan is hardly damanged and
reportedly more than 1,000 people died or gone missing,
but I guess the number will be the worst in the history.
(more…)
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13.Feb.2011
Friday 11, February 2011
in BERLIN
It is the second day. The number of participants has increased
and the film festival market is getting more lively.
I am here on a mission, and that mission is
to have three important meetings.
One was on the first day, and the other two were today. Fortunately, all three meetings went smoothly, so the market was ideal for me.
I now have lots of free time.
Japanese films are hard to sell,
and in the later part of the festival lots of buyers
from small territories just collect information like
“raking up fallen leaves” in preparation for the next market.
However, I have learnt from experience,
and judge my provision well so my clients were satisfied.
I feel quite relieved now.
From today onwards I can watch various films without worrying.
My translator for this market was Rei (Rei-kun),
who lives in Berlin. He looks young, but is in fact over thirty.
His careful consideration and his smartness
have been a great asset to my market presence.
He is studying how human emotions and the body functions are
influenced by images via a post-graduate course here in Germany.
I do not know about his area of study, but I heard he is writing
a disitation on the subject “What comes first the tears or emotion
when we cry whilst watching a film?”. I can’t understand it all,
but he is a student at a philosophy department here.
I am convinced that his theme is a difficult one.
I hear, that after graduating from a Japanese university,
he started life in Germany with a two -mat room at the cost of 60 euro a month.
To help pay for this he took a part-time job at a Chinese restaurant in Berlin.
When he wanted a bath he had to steal coals from the railway sidings.
He bought these back to his room on a trolley,
and heated his shower with a small boiler using one coal chunk at a time.
But now, he is renting an apartment with two rooms and
he has a pet cat. He has his part-time job (13 hours) at
the Chinese restaurant, which pays 4 euros per hour.
“I have a cat. It is waiting for me at home.
I can have a cat now (giggles).
Pardon? Of course, my parents do not give me an allowance.
In Germany, school fees are 50 euro a month.
It’s cheap isn’t it?
I can manage to pay that myself.”
He is a person with guts and strong will.
He does not have that pathetic, foreboding future outlook that is
often found in young people in Japan today.
He is looking forward to the future cheerfully,
although he does not know what it holds for him.
He said
“The unemployment rate in the area where I am living is 50%”
“About unemployment? I am not sure what will happen.
Although I am 30 years old now,
I am a new graduate.” (laughs).
“Whether in Japan or Germany,
I’ll find a job, wherever one wants to chose me.
Do you think I can find a job?” (laughs)
He is always smiling, even when he said this.
“We will be able to get something when we have to”.
I can feel all the positive energy needed to tackle life.
I am sure he learnt about himself from his poor life in Germany.
I think we could all learn to live this life from his boldness and self belief.
I really want to tell this to people in Japan where the suicide ratio keep increasing
for over the decade now.
“In the beginning I used to work in the kitchen,
but when a waiter quit I moved up into their job.
I am quite good as a waiter, so the manager said to me that
he would employ me at any time. (laughs).
“I’ll treat you to Chinese food tomorrow”,
he said, and so he invited me to where he worked.
This increased my enjoyment even more.
An ever smiling Rei-kun is happily drinking
an Apple Cinnamon milk-shake in front of a table full of powerful women.
He ordered a kid’s drink complete with a teddy bear muddler.
“I’ll take a photo of you with that and put in on my blog”,
I teased him. He hid the muddler from view.
He talks very fast, and I can only half understand all he says.
It is the only defect in his character. That is Rei-kun.
Well, that is a report on the reality of live for Japanese students in Berlin.
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10.Feb.2011
Friday 10, February 2011
in BERLIN
How long has it been since there was a Berlin International Film Festival
without snow? It is mild outside so it feels very hot inside the building.
Tonight’s opening film will be the Coen brothers latest film
“True Grit”. The tickets for huge cinema have already sold out.
I think it is perfect that the brothers are doing a stage greeting.
Lots of mega-stars are arriving for this festival,
which is one of the big three international film festivals in the world.
Everybody wants to see the stars on the Red Carpet
at least once in their lifetime.
Don’t worry.
We can see the press conference for the official screening films
and the live performances on the film festival website.
Actually although we are here in Berlin and
very near the main festival theatre you can see everything
just as well over the internet live streaming.
I wrote in a previous blog “Hollywood Pay Attention!”.
J.C. Chandor has arrived in Berlin.Tomorrow morning (local time) he has
his press conference and photo-call.Berlin International Film Festival official website
live streaming schedule:
11/2 (Berlin local time)MARGIN CALL by J.C. Chandor10.50 Photo-call11.00 Press Conference
MARGIN CALL by J.C. Chandor19.00 to 19.30 Red carpet
By the way, the film market is unusually quiet.
It seems that the Asian buyers are altogether non-existent.
In spite of it being the first day, the attendees are very, very few.
Each countries sales agents said, in chorus,
“Business is dead”, and looked very bored.
Meanwhile, I heard about a film that does
not sound commercially viable.
It is a Portuguese film, which tells the fascinating tale of
the life of Fado singer, Amália Rodrigues.
So I thought it would not be profitable as a film about fado
music seems to be only for the hard-core fans.Then” I’ll tell you a secret if it is unsold on the last day of the market”. I said it suggestively and left it there.
Fado was born in the port town of Lisbon.
The city still has the atmosphere of traditional
downtown neighbourhoods, where for example,
old women cook beside their kitchen doors.
In a way Fado has a lot in common with the
Japanese Enka song, which is a traditional style of Japanese popular song.
It’s like a folk song born of the local land,
which deeply effects the people’s emotions and is beautiful.
Although very few people go out of their way
to visit Lisbon to hear Amalia’s singing,
if we could see and hear her on screen,
I think we would find and treasure the feeling that although
“the world is wide, it is not a stranger”.
I hope we can see many more films from
around the world that make us light-hearted.
However, putting that all to one side,
I am so sleepy due to jet-lag.
