Vancouver Asian Film Festival in collaboration with explorASIAN, Community Partners for Internationalization (UBC) and the Consulate of Brazil present a special screening of acclaimed director TIZUKA YAMASAKI’S award winning film “GAIJIN - LOVE ME AS I AM” (GAIJIN - AMA ME COMO SOU)
Date - Sunday, November 23, 2008
Time - 7:00pm
Location - Frederic Wood Theatre, 6354 Crescent Road, UBC
Admission -
FREE for VAFF Members and UBC Faculty, Staff & Students with VAFF membership card or UBC ID
General Public admission is FREE with purchase of VAFF Membership - $2.00 - at the door
Please RSVP online before Nov 22 to reserve your tickets: http://gaijin.eventbrite.com
Runtime - 131 min
Country - Brazil
Language - Portuguese with English subtitles
Year - 2005
GAIJIN - Love Me As I Am (Ama Me Como Sou) - SYNOPSIS
The pioneer Titoe arrived in Brazil aboard Kasato Maru Ship in 1908, wishing to return to her homeland with the money saved by working in the coffee farms.
In 1935, holding her Brazilian-daughter, Shinobu, and little amount of money she saved, Titoe buys her first piece of land in Londrina City (North of Paraná State) and postpones her desire to go back to Japan.
The Second World War and its consequences to Japan, put off Titoe's promise to come back to Japan. Titoe's grandchildren, Kazumi and Maria, were born in Londrina by the end of the 40's, and then Titoe becomes a "batyan" (grandma).
Maria marries Gabriel, a gaijin (foreigner), son of the Spanish farmer Ramon Salinas and the Italian immigrant Sofia. From this relationship two children were born, Yoko and Pedro. Gabriel's job selling and buying lands are doing well until Fernando Collor de Mello's (Brazilian President) confiscation plan (economic plan) in 1990, bankrupts him. Maria, Gabriel, Yoko and Pedro have to live with Batyan, in the house she built by herself. Having no other choices, Gabriel leaves Brazil and goes to Kobe, Hyogo province, as a dekassegui (temporary worker) like Shinobu did to recover the money she lost in Brazil.
Maria, Shinobu, Batyan and Gina (Maria's sister-in-law) have to reorganise life in Brazil. But after the earthquake in Kobe in 1995, when Gabriel was considered dead, Yoko and Maria decide to go to Japan to look for him. In Japan, Maria and Yoko face prejudices and challenges provided by cultural differences, and deal with the fear about the unknown.
The promise of the old Titoe to return to Japan drives the lives of these four women generations: the ninety-years-old Batyan, her daughter Shinobu, a nisei (second Japanese generation), her granddaughter Maria, a sansei (third generation) and her great-granddaughter Yoko, a half-breed (Japanese/Spanish/Italian).
Gaijin is a film about the Japanese descendants' saga who try to find out their identities.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
GAIJIN - Love Me As I Am (Ama Me Como Sou)
2006 - SAN FRANCISCO INTERN. ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL - Special Presentation
2006 - LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL - Special Presentation
2005 - FESTIVAL GRAMADO – Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, Best Supporting Actress Aya Ono
2005 - FESTIVAL DE BIARRITZ CINÉMAS ET CULTURES D’AMERIQUE LATINE
2005 - TOKYO INTERNACIONAL FORUM - Special Presentation - Brazilian Embassy – President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva in Japan
2005 - NAGOYA - Special Presentation Brazilian Consulate in Nagoya
Please RSVP online before Nov 22 to reserve your tickets: http://gaijin.eventbrite.com/
