by Hoc Poeng on August 17th, 2007

The Filmmaker: Kimi Takesue is an award-winning filmmaker and the recipient of the prestigious 2005 national Guggenheim Fellowship in Filmmaking. Her films E=NYC2 (2005), SUMMER OF THE SERPENT (2004), HEAVEN’S CROSSROAD (2002), ROSEWATER (1999), and BOUND (1995) have screened at over 200 film festivals and museums internationally, including the Locarno International Film Festival, Rotterdam International, Vancouver International, London’s Institute of Contemporary Art, the Walker Art Center and the Smithsonian. Takesue’s films have aired nationally on PBS, the Independent Film Channel, and the Sundance Channel.

Takesue’s directorial work has received support through filmmaking fellowships and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, New York State Foundation for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, The Arts Council of England, the National Asian American Telecommunications Association, Yaddo, and the MacDowell Colony among many others. Her films have received numerous honors including the SPIRIT OF SLAMDANCE AWARD, Slamdance Film Festival; BEST DOCUMENTARY, Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema; GRAND JURY PRIZE, Brooklyn Internat‘l Film Festival; JURORS’ CHOICE AWARD, Black Maria Film & Video Festival; GOLD MEDAL & GRAND JURY PRIZE; Brno International Film Festival, Czech Republic; BEST NARRATIVE SHORT, San Diego Asian Film Festival; and the GOLDEN REEL: NEW VISIONS AWARD, Los Angeles Asian International, among others.

Takesue has produced and directed commercials as well as television programming for A&E Network and PBS. She has been a visiting filmmaker at Yale University, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Minnesota, University of California-Irvine, University of Texas-San Antonio, and Amherst College, among others.

Raised in Hawai’i and Massachusetts, Takesue received her B.A. from Oberlin College and her M.F.A from Temple University. Her films are distributed by Women Make Movies.

The Movie: A grief-stricken Japanese ice-carver mourning the death of his only child makes an unexpected connection with a struggling cabaret singer in New York City. Together they are able to face their painful pasts and rediscover their passion for life and beauty.

Producer: Vox3 Films: Andrew Fierberg (IMDB), Steven Shainberg (IMDB), Christina Weiss Lurie (IMDB), Jenny Schweitzer (IMDB)

Director: Kimi Takesue (IMDB)

Writers: Kimi Takesue

Lead Cast:

Maria Bello (IMDB) 2-time Golden Globe nominee: A History of Violence, The Cooler, Thank you for Smoking, World Trade Center, upcoming in The Mummy 3

Etsushi Toyokawa (IMDB) 2-time Japanese Academy Award Winner and 4-time Japanese Academy Award nominee: Love Letter, Ai no Rukeichi, No Way Back, Inochi, Year One in the North

Mark Webber (IMDB) The Hottest State, Broken Flowers, The Laramie Project, Storytelling

What’s needed: Seeking private equity investors looking to invest in a high profile independent film with name attachments.

Contact:
Jenny Schweitzer
Vox3 Films
jlschweitzer’@'earthlink.net