Film Movement picks up Japense Comedy “Hospitalité”
Film Movement has picked up Japanese director Koji Fukuda’s comedy “Hospitalité” for North American distribution, the company said Tuesday. The film follows the follies that ensue when a man and his wife shack up with a family that owns a printing press in their building, the husband takes it over, and the couple begin inviting a motley crew of friends. The film picked up an award at the Tokyo International Film Festival and screened at the 2011 New Directors/New Films. Film Movement will release the film in late 2011.
Film Movement Acquires Japanese Comedy “Hospitalité”
Tokyo Int’l Film Festival Winner to be
Distributed in all of North AmericaJune 7th, 2011 (New York, NY) – Film Movement (www.filmmovement.com), the North American film distribution company that brings first-run, award-winning independent and foreign films to fans all across the country, announced today their acquisition of “Hospitalité”. The second feature film from Koji Fukuda is in Japanese and English with English subtitles, and tells the comical story of a banal middle-class family in Tokyo whose life is turned upside down with the arrival of a mysterious new boarder who brings with him a cadre of ne’er-do-wells. A hit at this year’s New Directors/New Films in New York, “Hospitalité” will enjoy a New York theatrical opening in Q4 of 2011, with a limited national roll-out to follow, as well as a day-and-date Cable Video on Demand premiere.
“Brilliant storytelling [and] undeniable artistry!”
– Chris Cabin, Slant“A marvelous tension between a prim comedy of manners and unbridled slapstick.”
– Ronnie Scheib, VarietySynopsis of “Hospitalité”:
Mikio Kobayashi lives quietly with his wife, daughter, and divorced sister in downtown Tokyo, where xenophobic neighbors insist on them participating in community meetings, and the most exciting thing to happen is the disappearance of a pet parrot. But one day Kagawa appears, claiming to be the son of a financier who once helped Kobayashi’s company. In return for his family’s past help, Kagawa requests to move in, and Kobayashi’s quiet lifestyle is quickly forgotten when Kagawa invites his Brazilian (or is she Bosnian?) wife and a myriad of eclectic and foreign visitors to join him in the cramped apartment. The Kobayashis are comically tossed about in confusion as Kagawa and his associates run amuck in their home. Kagawa, with the help of his visitors, manages to reveal old secrets and stir up the monotony of Mikio’s former life with affairs, blackmail, and rampant youthful partying.Acclaim for “Hospitalité”:
Winner – Best Independent Debut Tokyo Int’l Film Festival
Official Selection – Rotterdam Int’l Film Festival, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, Hong Kong Int’l Film Festival, New Directors/New FilmsThe acquisition of “Hospitalité” was negotiated by Film Movement’s President Adley Gartenstein and VP of Acquisitions and Distribution Rebeca Conget, and Hisami Kuroiwa of Media Space Inc.
“Koji Fukuda’s deliciously intelligent comedy completely surprised us and delighted us, especially among a year of festival fare that seems to favor the violent, dark and grim. Hospitalite is a breath of fresh air that we know will be as welcome by American audiences later this year as it was by us.” says Film Movement’s VP of Acquisitions and Distribution Rebeca Conget.
About Film Movement: Launched in 2003, Film Movement is a full-service North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films, based in New York City. Film Movement has released more than 150 feature films and shorts from 37 countries on six continents, including top prize winners from Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca and other prestigious festivals. Film Movement releases its films through numerous distribution channels, including thousands of art-house cinemas, universities and libraries; home video (Blockbuster, Netflix and Amazon); television outlets (Sundance Channel, HBO, IFC and Showtime); Cable Video on Demand (including its very own branded cable VOD platform—Film Festival on Demand—available in over 30 million US homes); In-flight Entertainment (Continental and Alaska Airlines) and broadband outlets (iTunes, Hulu, YouTube and Bablegum). For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com.
