Collection of world's best short films are compiled in "ANNIVERSARY" DVD, now on sale at LOUNGE by Francfranc (Minami Aoyama store) and other locations.
The attractions of Japan,traveling short films.
Let's Travel! Project Jury
The Committee has selected three jurors from diverse industry backgrounds with unique points of view. Jurors will award one film: the Best Short Award (Minister’s Award, the MinistryofLand, Infrastructure, Transportand Tourism) from Let’s Travel! Project.
(The jurors are listed from the left in order of the Japanese phonetic alphabet.)
Teruko Takano Traveler / Writer
While working at movie production studio Toei, producer and author Teruko Takano rose to prominence through a TV program she developed for national broadcaster FujiTV initially using private footage of her personal trips overseas. She has now traveled to 40 countries, with the series continuing to air to this day. Her best-selling novel‘Butterfly in the Ganges River’has sold more than 150,000 copies and is well known as a travelers’bible for young and old, with talks of turning the book it into a TV drama series.⦆ Her other novels include‘I’m In Love With The Dalai Lama’and‘Amigo in Cuba’. Now working as an independent producer after leaving Toei last year, Takano continues to strive to show audiences the beauty and wondrousness of different countries, cultures, and people through TV, radio, print, and more.
Patrick Harlan Actor / Comedian
The "funny man" in the comedy duo PakkunMakkun, Patrick is the most prominent foreign comedian in the country and his work as an MC and commentator have made him a fixture on Japanese television. However, his first love is acting. After making his first appearance on stage in age 6 in a musical directed by his father, an amateur director and playwright, Patrick appeared in numerous productions in Colorado and Boston. After coming to Japan, he joined a local acting troupe in Fukui Prefecture and eventually found his way into television dramas such as NHK's Taiga Drama "Ryomaden"and movies including Blister and My Darling is a Foreigner. He apparently has not yet given up his dream of making it in Hollywood.
Herbie Yamaguchi Photographer/Essayist
Born 1950,Tokyo. Moved to London at age of 23 and stayed for 10years. With an encounter the era of Punk and New-wave movement, he documented the musicians and ordinary people in London that received high appreciation. After moving back to Tokyo,often he went back to Europe and he photographed Prague on the day of revolution in 1989.Through his life as a photographer his theme has been"hope and light of in our lives"apart from taking photographs he writs essays, appears on radio, giving lectures, also wrote lyrics for a Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei. He received an award by The Photographer’s society of Japan in 2011. His latest publication is a book that collected portraits of people in Tohoku called"HOPE 311 ⦆the land of rising sun".