Wilmette Theatre Hosts U.S. Film Premiere and Wrap Party for Asian Pop-Up Cinema Series with Special Guest, Film Director

WILMETTE THEATRE PARTNERS WITH SOPHIA’S CHOICE TO HOST

ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA SERIES CLOSING NIGHT FILM AND AFTER PARTY

w/ Special Guest: Film Director, Yuichi Sato

Screening U.S. Premiere of POISON BERRY IN MY BRAIN

December 4, 2015

· SERIES IS SIGNATURE PROGRAM OF NEW CHICAGO NON-PROFIT, SOPHIA’S CHOICE

· COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO JAPANESE CINEMA PROFFESOR RON FALZONE TO MODERATE POST-FILM Q&A SESSION

(November 18, 2015) – To celebrate the success of the inaugural season of ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA Series, the Wilmette Theatre will co-host with Sophia’s Choice, a special closing night film screening and after party at 7pm, on December 4, 2015. Audiences will be the first in the country to see the manga-based POISON BERRY IN THE BRAIN (Japanese Film, 121 min. w/English subtitles), at the Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Avenue, Wilmette. Director of the film, Yuichi Sato, specially flown in from Tokyo by the Board of Directors of Sophia’s Choice, will introduce the film and answer questions from the audiences. Tickets are on sale now, $30 (film + party): www.wilmettetheatre.com.

POISON BERRY IN THE BRAIN (脳内ポイズンベリー ) directed by Yuichi Sato and starring Yuki Furukawa, Yoko Maki, and Hidetoshi Nishijima, is based on a manga of the same title illustrated by Setona Mizushiro, POISON BERRY IN THE BRAIN is about the love life of a 30-year-old unemployed woman, Ichiko. She meets Ryoichi at a drinking establishment and, even though he is a lot younger than she, she can’t forget him. Meanwhile, similar to the current Pixar hit, INSIDE OUT, Ichiko has five different characters in her brain that govern her actions: “Yoshida” presides over the meeting as the chairman; while “Ishibashi” is the optimist; ”Ikeda” is the pessimist; “Hatoko” is the character who lives in the moment; and “Kishi” thinks about the past.

Immediately following the premiere will be the Closing Night party with a sneak peek of Asian Pop-Up Cinema Spring 2016 line up plus wrapping up a successful inaugural season. Fresh sushi rolls prepared by 153 Akira, seasonal treats with complimentary wine & beer will be served.

Among highlights of the inaugural season, included opening night festivities of a screening of the breezy rom-com WOMEN WHO FLIRT (Hong Kong, dir. Pang Ho-cheung), preceded by a reception supported in part by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (New York), September 16. ECOTHERAPY GETAWAY HOLIDAY (Japan, dir. Okita Shuichi), MEETING DR. SUN (Taiwan, dir. Yee Chih-yen) and ONLY YOU (China, dir. Zhang Hao) all of which made their Chicago debuts. Most films in the ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA series were followed by question-and-answer sessions led by award-winning screenwriter, Columbia College Chicago Associate Professor in Cinema Art + Science, and host of the popular Cinema Slapdown series, Ron Falzone. The inaugural series featured films primarily in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean languages (with English subtitles.

The 2nd Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Spring season - March - May, 2016) line up will be announced January, 2016.

About Director Yuichi Sato

監督：佐藤祐市　Yuichi Sato

1962年8月18日生まれ。東京都出身。主な映画監督作品は「シムソンズ」(06)、「キサラギ」(07)、「守護天使」、「ブラック会社に勤 めてるんだが、もう俺は限界かもしれない」(09)、「ストロベリーナイト」(13)など。「キサラギ」で、第50回(2007年度)ブルーリボ ン賞・作品賞、第31回日本アカデミー賞・優秀作品賞を受賞。自身も、2007年新藤兼人賞・銀賞、日本アカデミー賞・優秀監督賞を受賞した。演 出を担当したTVドラマは、「ウォーターボーイズ」シリーズ(03、04、05)、「アテンションプリーズ」(06)、「シバトラ～童顔刑事・柴 田竹虎～」(08)、「ストロベリーナイト」シリーズ(10、12)など多数。

Born August 18, 1962 in Tokyo, Yuichi Sato has been working primarily with Fuji TV since 1996 directing highly rated TV Movies/Drama director with one of the TV Dramas “Strawberry Night” converted into a stylish-noirish feature length movie enjoying both critical and commercial success. Sato’s director credits includes:

POISON BERRY IN MY BRAIN | Nounai Poison Berry (2015); STRAWBERRY NIGHT | Sutoroberi Naito (2013); BLACK GAISHA | Black Gaisha ni Tsutometerundaga, Mou Ore Wa Genkai Kamoshirenai (2009); GUARDIAN ANGEL | Shugo Tenshi (2009): KISARAGI (2007); PRAY | Purei (2005) and SIMSONS (2005). KISARAGI was awarded with the “Best Picture” Award in the 50th Blue Ribbons Awards on February 12, 2008.

ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA is the signature series of SOPHIA’S CHOICE, a new Chicago 501 C (3) not-for-profit arts organization under the direction of Chicago-based, Hong Kong-bred cultural entrepreneur Sophia Wong Boccio. SOPHIA’S CHOICE was started here with the ambitious multiple mission of: cultivating the general public’s interest in Asian culture via film; connecting the Asian film industry with local industry for both professional and educational exchanges; and promoting Chicago as a destination for Asian film companies. All of the above programs will serve as the incubator for the First Chicago Asian Film Festival, to be launched in tandem with the Chinese New Year holiday in 2017.

“Asian Pop-Up Cinema is intended for those culturally curious about the wide range of contemporary Asian films that are rarely theatrically released in America, as well as the rapidly growing Asian-American population here that wants to understand more about their heritage through current films. These films- by award-winning filmmakers and featuring Asian superstars- all tell stories that transcend the different languages,” said Wong Boccio.

The inaugural season of ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA is supported in part by Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, New York; AMC Independent; The Wilmette Theatre; China Lion Film Distribution; Cathay Pacific Airways Limited; Huayi Bros. International; Lao Sze Chuan, Michigan; Walton J. Newton & Co.; TSG; ADG; Marshall Gerstein Borun, LLP; Masuda Funai; and Big Picture Marketing.

About SOPHIA’S CHOICE founder Sophia Wong Boccio

Sophia Wong Boccio was born and raised in Hong Kong by parents who were part of Hong Kong’s film industry from the 1950s through the ’70s. Her father (Wong Tsao-she) was an award-winning editor with the Motion Picture and General Investment Co. Ltd, (MP & GI in short) later reorganized as Cathay Organization (HK) Ltd., and her mother (Yu Wan-fei), an actress with Sil-Metropole Organization Ltd. Growing up “on the sets” of these film studios, Wong Boccio became both interested in, and an advocate of, Asian film.

Wong Boccio’s business career first took her to China where she spent almost a decade working for Marc Rich & Co., a large Swiss multinational corporation. As Managing Director of its Hong Kong and Beijing offices, she was responsible for more than $400 million (US) in annual trading activity. In the early 1990s, while working as the Beijing-based director of a U.S. agribusiness trade association, Sophia launched a Sophia’s Choice movie series in Beijing, setting the stage for this current endeavor. In collaboration with China Film Export & Import Corp., Sophia’s Choice brought Chinese film and cultural exchange with the films or films’ actors and directors to Beijing’s expatriate and diplomatic community. In the late-1990s, during a two-year residency in Sydney, Australia, Wong Boccio curated two independent retrospective Chinese and Hong Kong film festivals on behalf of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office and the People’s Republic of China Consulate in Sydney. In 1999, she also became the Hong Kong Consultant for Italy’s Udine Far East Film Festival’s (FEFF) and continues to support the festival as the official Cantonese (and also Mandarin) Chinese translator for the festival’s VIP guests.

In 2000, Wong Boccio relocated to Chicago with her husband Michael and they have made Chicago their permanent home. Inspired by Chicago’s diverse and vibrant culture, Wong Boccio applied her business acumen to supporting Chicago’s arts community as Managing Director of the Chicago International Film Festival (2000-2007), Executive Director of Fulcrum Point New Music Project (2007-2013) and Managing Director of Redmoon Theater (2013-2014). She is passionate about and committed to bringing Sophia’s Choice to Chicago, supporting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago Cultural plan and advancing Chicago as one of the world’s diversified arts and culture capital.

For more information, please visit http://www.asianpopupcinema.org.

About The Wilmette Theater:

More than 100 years after opening its doors, the not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) Wilmette Theatre continues to be the premiere multi-arts and performance center anchoring the downtown Wilmette business district. The theatre plays host to an eclectic mix of film, movies, concerts and live programs and is also home to the well-respected Actors Training Center, offering classes for kids, teens and adults. 1122 Central Avenue, Wilmette, IL, 60091. www.wilmettetheatre.com