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COCKTAIL PARTY

Film
Film
Language: 
English
Other languages or subtitles: 
Japanese
Production country: 
United States
Running time (In minutes): 
110
Theme: 
Thriller
Category/Format: 
Fiction Features
Poster: 
Hiroshi Uehara is toasted by Major Porter at the cocktail party
Production year: 
September, 2015
Film Credits
About the Director: 

Regge Life received his M.F.A. in directing film and theater from New York University. He worked on the epic RAGTIME and later TRADING PLACES. He produced and directed REUNION, starring Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington.  Awarded a NEA Creative Artist Fellowship, he traveled to Japan.  The overwhelmingly positive experience led him to produce his first work in Asia,  STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS:  THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN. The program chronicles the lives of African Americans who have chosen to make Japan their home.  The program has been widely acclaimed in both Japan and the United States.  Broadcast twice on NHK in Japan, their satellite channel in England, and on PBS nationwide.  Mr. Life’s second work was DOUBLES:  JAPAN AND AMERICA’S INTERCULTURAL CHILDREN.  This work examined the experience of the children on Japanese and American’s since the turn of the century until today.  This program was broadcast 3 times on NHK and nationwide on PBS. Mr. Life completed a third documentary, AFTER AMERICA...AFTER JAPAN, a film that chronicles the saga of re-entry for Americans and Japanese.  In additions to numerous exhibitions at festivals worldwide, all films of the Japan trilogy are part of the permanent collection at over 800 colleges, universities and globally minded organizations.  He also wrote and produced NATIVE SON, the life and work of Richard Wright, for Discovery Networks. Other film credits include, THE STORY OF JOE BARBOZA for NBC, SERIOUSLY FRESH and EL ULTIMO BAILE for PBS and he served as director for all the dramatic recreations for THIS FAR BY FAITH, the story of Henry Turner, a five part series for PBS.

 

A former Fulbright Journalist Fellow, an honoree of the Black Filmmaker Hall of Fame and a Sony Innovator, he produced REASON TO HOPE, a film about the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and LIVE YOUR DREAM: The Taylor Anderson Story that chronicles the lives of two Americans who lost their lives during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  He is the recipient of 3 CINE Golden Eagles, the Gold Award from CINDY and from the Philadelphia International Film Festival, a Silver Award from the Houston International Film Festival and Best Film from the International Festival of Black Cinema in Berlin. His works have been featured at the Asian American Film Festival, the Hawaii Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival and the 4th International Festival of New Cinema in Caracas, Venezuela. 

Film director: 
Regge Life
Producer: 
Regge Life
About the Producer: 
<p>Regge Life received his M.F.A. in directing film and theater from New York University. He worked on the epic RAGTIME and later TRADING PLACES. He produced and directed REUNION, starring Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington.&nbsp; Awarded a NEA Creative Artist Fellowship, he traveled to Japan.&nbsp; The overwhelmingly positive experience led him to produce his first work in Asia,&nbsp; STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS:&nbsp; THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN. The program chronicles the lives of African Americans who have chosen to make Japan their home.&nbsp; The program has been widely acclaimed in both Japan and the United States.&nbsp; Broadcast twice on NHK in Japan, their satellite channel in England, and on PBS nationwide.&nbsp; Mr. Life&rsquo;s second work was DOUBLES:&nbsp; JAPAN AND AMERICA&rsquo;S INTERCULTURAL CHILDREN.&nbsp; This work examined the experience of the children on Japanese and American&rsquo;s since the turn of the century until today.&nbsp; This program was broadcast 3 times on NHK and nationwide on PBS. Mr. Life completed a third documentary, AFTER AMERICA...AFTER JAPAN, a film that chronicles the saga of re-entry for Americans and Japanese.&nbsp; In additions to numerous exhibitions at festivals worldwide, all films of the Japan trilogy are part of the permanent collection at over 800 colleges, universities and globally minded organizations.&nbsp; He also wrote and produced NATIVE SON, the life and work of Richard Wright, for Discovery Networks. Other film credits include, THE STORY OF JOE BARBOZA for NBC, SERIOUSLY FRESH and EL ULTIMO BAILE for PBS and he served as director for all the dramatic recreations for THIS FAR BY FAITH, the story of Henry Turner, a five part series for PBS.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A former Fulbright Journalist Fellow, an honoree of the Black Filmmaker Hall of Fame and a Sony Innovator, he produced REASON TO HOPE, a film about the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and LIVE YOUR DREAM: The Taylor Anderson Story that chronicles the lives of two Americans who lost their lives during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. &nbsp;He is the recipient of 3 CINE Golden Eagles, the Gold Award from CINDY and from the Philadelphia International Film Festival, a Silver Award from the Houston International Film Festival and Best Film from the International Festival of Black Cinema in Berlin. His works have been featured at the Asian American Film Festival, the Hawaii Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival and the 4<sup>th</sup> International Festival of New Cinema in Caracas, Venezuela.&nbsp;</p>
Screenplay: 
Regge Life, Story by Regge Life, Oshiro Tatsuhiro and Katsunori Yamazato
Editing: 
Michelle Tsaltas
Film photographer: 
Gabriel Volcovich
Sound: 
Michael Lanoue, David Franzo, Myles Kramer
Music: 
Marc Aramian
Art Director: 
Whitney Lowdermilk
Costume: 
Lia Nagamatsu
Decor: 
Christina Rigopoulos, Suja Ono
Cast 1: 
Tadashi Mitsui as Hiroshi Uehara
Cast 2: 
Sheldon Brown as Major Lucius Porter
Cast 3: 
Andrew Spatafora as 2nd Lt. Lance Wilson
Cast 4: 
Saori Goda as Naomi Ohashi
Cast 5: 
Tatsuo Ichikawa as Kenji Ohashi
Film synopsis: 
<p>Hiroshi Uehara is a prominent Okinawan, a leader of both civic and business communities &ndash; albeit in the poorest prefecture of Japan.&nbsp; He has made the most of the difficult post-war years and is a survivor with no visible scars.&nbsp; But things in Okinawa are on the move; and Uehara&rsquo;s hidden wounds are soon to be reopened.&nbsp; The U.S. military is under pressure to move a controversial base that sits right in the middle of the main city so Uehara agrees to attend a &ldquo;cocktail party&rdquo; hosted by Major Porter, a dynamic new Marine officer in Okinawa.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Uehara&rsquo;s Father had been a regular guest at Marine base cocktail parties in the sixties, before Okinawa was returned to Japan.&nbsp; In those days, just setting foot on base would prompt jeering from fellow islanders, who saw any Okinawan as a sellout for befriending the occupiers.&nbsp; But his Dad found a friend and mentor at these early cocktail parties, Mr. Yang, a Taiwanese businessman making a new life in occupied Okinawa, and very savvy around the US military administration.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The highlight of the evening is Porter&rsquo;s introduction of Uehara and by the reaction of those in attendance; Porter knows he has found an ally.&nbsp; The strongest reception comes from Mr. Ohashi, a Tokyo businessman new to Okinawa. The party ends on a high note and the next morning, Uehara receives a call from Porter and the offer to meet again. Excited by this opportunity, Uehara makes a call to share the good news with Mr. Ohashi only to learn a sad truth.&nbsp; While Uehara and Mr. Ohashi toasted and celebrated the night before, a US serviceman at a popular nightspot allegedly assaulted the Mr. Ohashi&rsquo;s daughter.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The news eventually makes its way to the base and Porter has to move quickly. Facing the prospects of seeing one of his men called up on serious charges and the media circus that will follow, Porter enlists Uehara&rsquo;s support to urge Mr. Ohashi to remain calm, but Mr. Ohashi is determined the serviceman face charges for what he did to his daughter. Ohashi&rsquo;s interest is absolute justice.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Powerless to calm waters around him, the great secrets of Uehara&rsquo;s life surge up from his past.&nbsp; It is revealed that his sister had been the victim of a sexual assault during the occupation years that the family kept quiet.&nbsp; His Mother was shattered by</p> <p>the incident and never completely recovered. His sister left Okinawa after their Mother&rsquo;s death but Uehara remained alone in Okinawa, holding together his fractured family from afar.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>While Porter continues to press his Marine for the truth of that evening, Uehara must choose between his feelings or a decision that could potentially gain new business.&nbsp; Both men are resigned to put their fate in the power of truth and justice in the fragile world of Okinawa. &nbsp;</p>
Budget
Budget Range: 
Between $100 000 and $1 Million
Actual Budget: 
$800,000
Technical infos
Technical infos
Original Film Format: 
Digital - other
Format Ratio: 
16:9
Film Sound: 
5.1
Video master available ?: 
Yes
Video Type: 
DCP
Number of reels: 
1
Festival Selection, Awards...
Festival selection, awards or citation already received and other comments... :
Already selected in a Festival?: 
No
Festival selections: 

None to date

Awards received: 
<p>New Film</p>
Film reviews: 
<p>The Cocktail Party is a compelling look at what at first appears to be another military rape by a young American soldier on the Japanese Okinawan islands, heavily inhabited by U.S. bases. Okinawa is at least twice afflicted, first by the Japanese who claimed the Ryukyu Islands as their own, making Okinawans second-class citizens and running rampant over their indigenous culture. Second, the postwar agreements placing the majority of the post-Occupation U.S. troops on these islands meant another kind of oppression, this one also tinged with racism and the lack of redress for Okinawan citizens against the harms- often physical - done to them by the U.S. military.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>But The Cocktail Party is not simply a rape story, one of the unfortunately many emerging from Okinawa: it is subtle and delves into the complexity behind injustices of advantage, insensitivity, violence and explores the nuances of culpability. The dramatic performances are excellent and there&rsquo;s not a wasted emotion or moment. Arrogance and indecision, truth and ambiguity all come into play around a moment of passion and dominance or something dreadfully lost in translation. Applause to Regge Life for another excellent film appearing to be &ldquo;about&rdquo; Japan but about so much more.</p> <div> Merry White, Boston University and recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun</div>
Film distribution
Theatre: 
Open
TV: 
Open
Video: 
Open
International: 
Open
Internet: 
Open
Sales/distribution name: 
Lifecycle Productions Inc.
Address: 
<p>957 County Route 5, East Chatham, New York 12060</p>
Publicity Infos
Publicity contact: 
Lifecycle Productions Inc.
publicity address: 
<p>Same as above</p>
Publicity contact email: 
Trailer availble: 
yes
0
Your rating: None

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