Press Release
The 2014 Japan Film Festival of San Francisco, the first and only fully-dedicated Japanese film celebration for the S.F. Bay Area, invites cinema fans to welcome special Guest of Honor, the Japanese actor Yûki Furukawa, for the special U.S. theatrical premiere of “wo ai ni” in TOKYO.
The new critically acclaimed short film plays for a special single engagement at NEW PEOPLE Cinema on Sunday, July 20th at 4:20pm and is presented in conjunction with the 2014 J-POP SUMMIT Festival, San Francisco’s annual celebration of Japanese pop culture, music, fashion and film which takes place July 19th and 20th across the city’s Japantown district. More information is available at www.J-POP.com.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet actor Yûki Furukawa, the extremely popular star from Itazura Na Kiss (Mischievous Kiss: Love In Tokyo)! Teaming up again with Koto Nagata, the director of Itazura Na Kiss, Yûki stars in the new short film, “wo ai ni” (I love you) in TOKYO. Furukawa will introduce the film and appear for a special audience Q&A immediately following the screening. Tickets are $15.00 each. Advance tickets, trailers and more information are available at: http://jffsf.org/2014/wo_ai_ni_in_tokyo.
In the charming film, a handsome young sales clerk at a bike shop (played by Yûki Furukawa) meets a Taiwanese girl (played by actress Lyan Cheng) who is traveling alone and having a hard time with the language.
Yûki Furukawa also will appear on the J-POP SUMMIT Festival’s Main Stage to introduce the film on July 20th at 12:30pm, just prior to a special meet and greet session with Festival VIP Pass A holders. Additional details about J-POP SUMMIT VIP Passes, and this Guest of Honor meet and greet are available at www.j-pop.com.
Born in 1987 in Tokyo, Japanese actor Yûki Furukawa moved to Canada at the age of 7. After graduating junior high school, he moved to the U.S. to complete high school in New York and returned to Japan at the age of 19. Yûki graduated from Keio University. He has gone on to star in several feature films and television dramas and rocketed to fame in Japan for his portrayal of Naoki Irie in the drama Itazura Na Kiss (Mischievous Kiss: Love In Tokyo), which was based on a popular manga series. Furukawa has become a big star throughout Asia, especially in China last year, with the broadcast of that drama, and is reported to have more than 1,200,000 followers on Weibo, a Chinese-based social media platform similar to Twitter.
About JAPAN FILM FESTIVAL OF SAN FRANCISCO
Launched in 2013, Japan Film Festival of San Francisco is the first and only fully-dedicated Japanese film event for the SF Bay Area, will feature a colorful mix of narratives, anime and documentary film premieres and exclusive screenings with special guest appearance at the NEW PEOPLE Cinema in SF Japantown from July 19 (Sat) through 27 (Sun), 2014. More details and ticket information is available at www.jffsf.org
About J-POP SUMMIT Festival
Launched in 2009, J-POP SUMMIT Festival is an annual street fair held in San Francisco, CA that celebrates Japanese popular culture. By introducing the latest in Japanese music, film, art, fashion, gaming, anime, food, as well as niche subcultures, the festival has become a prominent platform to showcase the latest pop trends and creative innovations from Japan.
The 5th annual J-POP SUMMIT held in July 2013 welcomed more than 80,000 attendees, making it one of the largest Japanese festivals in the United States. In addition to the original Festival held in Japantown, new attractions include the J-POP LIVE AT UNION SQUARE concert in downtown San Francisco, the Bay Area’s premier dedicated Japan Film Festival of San Francisco, and sake-tasting and fine foods events at the POP GOURMET Food Festival, which have each further enriched the experience. Additional information about J-POP SUMMIT Festival is available at: J-POP.com.
