This morning CAN staff member Joshua Brenner and I worked with an excellent editor named Shane Andreasen from Colorado (who came to Tokyo for ten days to do training for us) on the first film in our “My Story” series. The results were so impressive; a rough edit of the introduction to the story of a Japanese house wife named Megumi which also features her black lab.

To read more about Studio Re: go to the CAN related blog by clicking HERE

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Each person has a story to tell; each person that we pass on the street is more complex than the best-written character in literature. And yet, God somehow finds a way to reach each person in the deepest places of their heart. Though God is unchanging, each of us relate to Him in a slightly different way, making Him more dynamic than we could ever imagine. Studio Re: seeks to highlight this by telling the stories of His Japanese children. In our ongoing series of short films called My Story, we loan video equipment to ordinary Christians for one week to allow them to record their stories. Then our team of experienced filmmakers polishes the footage into high-quality short films that will be made available to churches and to the general public through online video sites and on DVD. Through hearing other peoples’ stories, we hope to help Japanese people discover their own, and build up the church in Japan.

Please pray as we do a pilot “My Story” sometime this fall.

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Below is a video by John (MCC leader):

Last evening when I was talking with the mother of the little girl who played violin at this event she told me several interesting things: this girl has been begging to play violin since she was two, this was her debut — her first time to play in public, she herself asked the pianist to play for her, she enjoyed it a lot and wants to do it again. The Mom also conveyed that this was an important opportunity for her daughter to do what she loves to do.

Why do we hold events like this (by Yu Shibuya)?

Artists, because of their dedication to craft, aren’t always social or skilled at connecting with the world outside of their imagination. Christians in the Arts Network (CAN), as its name implies, specializes in forming and maintaining a network of Christian artists around the world. Based in Tokyo, CAN holds retreats, open-mics, seminars and conferences to constantly provide a place where artists from various backgrounds can meet, inspire, and collaborate with one another. We believe that the crosspollination of ideas among artists and the exploration of the human mind’s capacity to imagine are ways to become intimate with our Creator, who is the Artist.

Gathering for events is vital, not just for the creative process. A gathering, for the artist, means having an audience, a group that might appreciate his work. Since an artist spends a lot of time alone facing an empty canvas or a blank screen agonizing over details, receiving live feedback of emotion replenishes his soul in indescribable ways. Also, we’ve discovered over the years that artists aren’t always supported by their families or understood by their churches, intensifying their solitude. “You can’t make a living like that.” “We don’t ‘get’ your stuff.” These are voices that often cripple their gifts. CAN seeks to offer a safe place where, if an artist’s passion has been damaged somehow, it can heal by expressing what it must.

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Inigo Film-Festival in Sydney Australia has chosen our film to receive a significant award — details will be announced later (we know what the award is be we don’t want to usurp their right to make the announcement first). But, our film is listed on their site, and we know that Kate Blanchard is slated to be in Sydney for the awards ceremony on July 18, 2008.

Biola professor Dean Yamada wrote, “I think this is an auspicious start for (the CAN Film Project) Studio Re: and I hope it’s just the first of many great collaborations.”

Our next Biola/CAN film project is in pre-production, which involves all the things that happen before you shoot a film including: choosing a script, planning logistics, gathering equipment, and lining up the staff. In Jan of 2009, Dean Yamada will travel to Tokyo along with a group of twelve Biola film majors for the shooting phase of the project.

You can view the trailer for Mujo No Kaze here: www.mnkmovie.com

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Date: Friday, June 6, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Tokyo Musashino Evangelical Free Church
Street: 1-2-12 Kichijoji Kita-machi
City/Town: Musashino (Tokyo), Japan

The featured artist of the month will be Shuji Noda (野田修司). He used to be a boxer (2-time National High-school champion). He got into music while in college and became a blues singer. While he was living a destructive life filled with drugs and alcohol, he met Jesus Christ. Now, he travels all over Japan performing his music.

Videos of his performance.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=GiAQUSB8Pgs
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mYqmkgDlcSw

After his performance, there will be an Open Mic. One act per person (music, drawing, dance, videos…anything you want to do). If you’d like to perform please let us know in advance to secure your spot.

Here’s a link to get the address, directions and the map to the venue.
English:
http://englishchurchtokyo.org/map.htm
Japanese:
http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/mcc/access.htm

We won’t be providing dinner in June (we usually do) but there will be drinks & deserts!

Admission is free of charge

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Mujo No Kaze will screen at Livermore Cinemas Theater on Saturday, April 19th at 10:00am and Sunday, April 20th at 1:30pm. For more information, please visit the California Independent Film Festival Site.

In May, MNK will screen at the Directors Guild of America theater as part of Visual Communication’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival. The screening will happen on Sunday, May 4th at 6pm and is open to the public. For more info, visit the festival SITE.

Shot on location in Tokyo with ten Biola University students, professor Dean Yamada, and featuring a Japanese cast, MNK is a short narrative film about finding hope in the midst of depression, suicide and the futility of life.

Visit www.mnkmovie.com for updates and future screenings.

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Targeting these youth, we will produce (and encourage the production of) captivating films, in Japanese, that will draw them towards putting their faith in Jesus Christ. We will build bridges by telling great stories and by posing the crucial questions of life. A “New Media” approach will allow interactivity and worldwide distribution via the Internet, we will also utilize traditional means of distribution.

We will seek to leverage the “Power For Living” campaign by featuring several of the celebrities that took part in that project. We will also network, encourage, and empower a select group of individuals in the art of film-making, empowering them to put their Christianity into practice.

For information on the strategic opportunity and need for Internet-based outreach in Japan go to: THIS SITE

What we see:
>>A highly skilled, dedicated core team with common values & vision.
>>A partnership with several key churches and ministries.
>>A large network of churches, groups, and individuals praying for and supporting the project.
>>A link to a web site that connects viewers of films to a believer.
>>A growing library of award-winning, redemptive films in a wide variety of genres (five films the first year, ten more the second).
>>A well-funded project with a good business plan that results in long-term financial stability.
>>A small cadre of Christians trained and equipped to become influential leaders in Japan’s film industry.
>>A project that benefits Japanese society by addressing social issues such as suicide, depression, and the hikikomori syndrome.

For more information use the contact from below:

In January of this year (2007) we (CAN Japan) collaborated with Biola University in the making of a short film. “Mujo No Kaze” was shot on location here in Tokyo, in Japanese. It was a big project that took a lot of teamwork and planning. It was a great experience working with the group of eleven that came from Biola, soon we will get to see the results of all our effort. Click HERE to view a new high quality trailer. The music, mood and cinemaphotography are all very impressive. I heard from All Nations leader Graham Fleming, who has seen the entire film, that “it turned out fantastic, really, I was very, very pleased. ”

The Japan premiere of Mujo No Kaze will be hosted by All Nations on November 30.

Name: All Nations - A Year in Review

Date: Friday, November 30, 2007

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: Grace Church (Grace Christian Fellowship) in Ome, Japan (Tokyo Area) MAP
Grace Church Phone: 042.830.1604

Event Description: Please join All Nations Japan as we celebrate our accomplishments in 2007. We will showcase dance selections from AN Dance Summer Tour, short film projects including Mujo No Kaze, and unveil the first painting from a children’s book, “Perfect Places to Play.”

US (CALIFORNIA) PREMIERE

The US premiere is December 1st at the AFI Mark Goodson Theatre in Los Angeles. Doors open at 8:15pm. Admission is free. The first screening will be at 8:30pm. For those who are late (which would be a very sad thing, indeed), there will be a second screening at 9:15. Following the 8:30 screening, there will be a Q&A session with the Director/Writer Dean Yamada.

Bible Manga is one of the most contextualized mass-media presentations of the gospel in the history of Christianity in Japan.

New Life League Japan (NLLJ) is publishing an exciting series of books called Bible Manga. These books are are genuine full-color manga, created by Japanese artists with text in Japanese. The first of the five books in the series, Manga Messiah, has already been published in English and is being translated into at least twenty other languages. It is getting a good deal of attention in mainstream, manga related blogs and news sites.

According to Roald Lidal, NLLJ will publish the original Japanese version of Manga Messiah in early 2008. This meeting with the publisher is a strategic opportunity to learn more about this important new resource. We want the Christian community in Japan to know as much as possible about this tremendous opportunity to artistically communicate the gospel to millions of Japanese manga readers.

Program:

Roald Lidal (Director of NLLJ) and his associate, Toshi Iwaoka (Assistant General Director of NLLJ), will make a presentation. They will also bring samples of Manga Messiah for attendees and a copy of the artwork for the next book in the series. There will be about an hour of time allocated for Q & A. This meeting will be conducted in English. If there is enough interest we will schedule another meeting in Japanese.

When: Thursday, September 27, 2007 10:00 AM to Noon

Where: Harvest Hall, Matsukawa Place, Higashi Kurume, Tokyo

(Matsukawa Place is located next to Christian Academy in Japan)

Cost: 500-yen donation

Registration: None needed – just come, you are welcome to bring others with you

Sponsor: CAN (Christians in the Arts Network)

Bible Manga Home Page

Questions? Contact Paul Nethercott info@japancan.com or call 090-9845-0091

“Bible Manga” is probably the most contextualized mass media presentation of the gospel in the history of Christianity in Japan. Remarkably, it is already being translated into at least twenty different languages.

The purpose of this meeting is to build vision for and provide information about the “Bible Manga” project. We want the Christian community in Japan to be prepared to make the most of this tremendous opportunity to communicate the gospel to the millions of mainstream Japanese who are manga readers.

Program: Roald Lidal (Director of NLLJ) and his associate, Toshi Iwaoka (Assistant General Director of NLLJ), will make a presentation. They will also bring samples of Manga Messiah for attendees and a copy of the artwork for the next book in the series. Finally, we will have about an hour for Q & A. This meeting will be conducted in English.

When: Thursday, September 27, 2007 10:00 AM to Noon

Where: Harvest Hall, Matsukawa Place, Higashi Kurume, Tokyo
(Matsukawa Place is located next to Christian Academy in Japan)

Cost: 500-yen donation

Registration: None needed – just come

Sponsor: CAN (Christians in the Arts Network) www.japancan.com

Questions? Contact Paul Nethercott at or call 090-9845-0091