Geof's Animations

Last summer, Geof attended an animation class at the Young Artists Studio. He created the scripts of his animations using clay, simple objects, paper and pen and sand. To create an animation of 30 seconds requires about 50 images. Geof creates the animations and his teacher takes the photos. Watch his animations which I produced using Power Director. Enjoy!

Animation of simple objects

Clay Animations

Cut-out and Flip-book Animations

Sand and the Magic Hand Animation

A Heartwarming (Free) Japanese Film at Eiga Sai'09

One of the cheap thrills Andy and I enjoy doing is to go on date for free (actually, Andy enjoys these dates - watching a free and rare movie at a first class movie house is indeed a treat). So it's no surprise to see us every year in the free viewing of Japanese movies during the Japanese Film Festival (Eiga Sai). Eiga Sai 2009 opened at Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City last July 2. The following night, we were among the long queue of eager-beavers waiting our first taste of 'free movie.'

Showing that night was Kamome Shokudo or Kamome Diner (Seagull Diner). The movie is about a strong-willed and compassionate Japanese woman who opened a diner in - of all places - Finland. Her diner specializes in making Japanese rice balls because, according to her, it is Japanese soul food.

Finland is one of the coldest places I have been to. Like the other Nordic countries, it is perennially clear - it only gets dark around 11 to 12 mn, and becomes clears again at about 4 am. You'll hardly see people on the street (when I was there, I only saw very fat but very cute cats roaming around!) . Their food preparation is also simple (definitely not as fancy as the French's). Thus, the country and the people struck me as being laid-back and uncomplicated.

So, opening a diner offering Japanese food in a quiet neighborhood in Finland looks a little odd. But the oddness of the situation is actually the main appeal of the movie.

Sachi, the main character would, day in and day out stay in her diner, cleaning and hoping for customers to come. Unfortunately, she was like a fish in a bowl, watched by passers-by with interest. The comments of the 3 women-'regular' watchers of Sachi actually confirms what my Hungarian friend (Laszo) told me - that Europeans have a hard time in determining the age of Asian-looking people. The 3 women in the movie calls Sachi 'girl-woman'. My take on Sachie's age in the movie is somewhere in the early 40's - she exudes confidence, compassion, and sensitivity that seem to be (deeply) rooted from her life experience.

The events took a turn when Tommy, a Finnish young adult who is fascinated with Japanese culture and anime came to the diner and asked for the lyrics of the anime show Gatchaman. Midori was next to enter the picture. Midori is a Japanese woman (also in her 40's) who decided to go to Finland because that's where her finger landed on the map (ala pin the donkey). She's obvioulsy lost and found anchor from the steadiness of Sachi. Next came Masako, a woman in her 50's who got attracted to the air-string olympics (i.e. playing the guitar ala phantomime) held in Finland. Coming out of 20 years of caring for her ill parents, Masako is also lost when her parents died.

The two Japanese women - Midori and Masako - ended up helping in the diner - not because they need income (they were not paid by Sachi for obvious reasons - she has no customer!) The two, however, were simply grateful for Sachi in allowing them to help in the diner. The irony is - what brought customers in the diner was not Japanese food (that actually came later). It was the coffee and cinnamon rolls that Sachi baked for her and Midori. And just like in any other things, a "first time" is always necessary to break the barrier. Once the shields are down, it becomes easier to have a repeat until it becomes a force of habit. Customers, thus, began coming regularly, trying out things 'new' to them (It was wonderful to watch Japanese dishes like tonkatsu, karaage, grilled salmon and onigiri or rice balls being cooked and served in the diner) and liking it.

The dynamics and friendship of the three very different women established the depth and substance of the script. The interplay of cultures - Finns and Japanese - adds texture to the story. And the unifying theme - food - made the film light and feel-good that viewers actually gave the film a round of applause when the credits came out. Watch a preview of the movie.

More films are scheduled to be shown. (Click here for the screeening schedule of Eiga Sai '09). The festival runs from July 2-12, 2009 at Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City, Aug. 14-20, 2009 at the UP Film Institute, QC. The festival will also be held at Davao City, Cebu City and Baguio City.

J-Drama "Shiroi Kyoto": Power, Politics & Ethics in the Medical Profession

As earlier declared in this blog, we are Japanese drama-addicts. Recently, we followed a very engaging Japanese medical series, "Shiroi Kyoto" or The Great White Tower at DramaCrazy.net. The story revolves around Zaizen Goro, a highly-skilled and ambitious surgeon specializing in cancer-removal, and his alter-ego Dr. Shuji Satomi. Both characters are into cancer treatment - Zaizen is a brilliant surgeon while Satomi is physician devoted to reseach, but their methods, ethics, and goals are poles apart. Yet, typical of an oriental drama, the yin-yang philosophy was the unmistakable undercurrent in the story. Zaizen and Satomi, while very different from each other (Zaizen is a realist while Satomi is an idealist), are drawn to each other like forever-quarreling brothers that have umblical cords that can't be separated.

The plot thickens when Zaizen, driven by ambition, moved mountains to get the professorship position in the Surgery Dept. of the Naniwa Medical School. He used all kinds of tactics and strategies, most of which are ethically questionable, to achive his goal. The story allows the viewers to peak into the politics and power-play of doctors, stripping them of the usual bright-eyed nobility associated with the profession. It also tackled the controversial issue of medical malpractice and how doctors close-ranks to protect their own.

The beauty of the drama is that it was able to develop the context and motivation of each character that one cannot villify a character for his/her action(s). No episode was dull as each draws and engages viewers as the story unfolds. Shiroi Kyoto was awarded as the best drama, best director and best screenplay at the 40th TV Drama Awards 2003 in Japan.

Oishii (Delicious) Proposal !

We watched another Japanese food comedy drama – Oishii Proposal. The plot centers on the relationship between Shiraishi Suzuko, a beautiful and strong-minded female chef of a small Italian restaurant in Tokyo and Koide Keisuke, a rich and handsome businessman whose father wants to take-over the restaurant. The movie has wonderful characters who have their own interesting roles to play – the restaurant manager, the sous chef, the waitress, the father, the businessman’s assistant, the rich daughter of a business partner, who is infatuated with Keisuke….everybody contributes to this movie which is full of comedy, romance and conflict.

Will Suzuko sacrifice the restaurant business and her chef job for love? Will Keisuke obey his father’s orders to take-over the restaurant of the lady chef to whom he is falling in love? Will Keisuke marry the rich girl so that their business will prosper or will he choose the lady chef instead? Will Suzuko accept the bribe given by the father so that she cuts-off her relationship with Keisuke? Watch it at http://www.mysoju.com/oishii-proposal/ or http://www.tv-links.cc/asian/oishii-proposal.htm and find out the twist at the final episode. It’s really a tasty (especially if you love Italian food like pasta) and enjoyable movie!

TOP CHEF Series

We enjoyed watching the three seasons of TOP CHEF – a competition among chefs. During the Christmas break, we completed the Season 4 series. This is an enjoyable and entertaining show of 15 episodes. The first episode starts with 16 chefs who compete to become the Top Chef in the final episode. For each episode, the chefs compete in two challenges. The “quickfire challenge” is a a very short challenge which takes from 15 min to at most 1 hour to complete – like preparing a dessert, cooking in a restaurant, etc – the winner of the challenge usually is given immunity from being eliminated in the elimination challenge. In the elimination challenge, the chefs compete individually or in groups – carrying out the specific challenge of the episode – like catering for a wedding reception, restaurant wars, preparing a dish based on a theme, etc. The show is very informative as it showcases the various tasks a chef has to know – from butchering a pig, cleaning a fish, cutting and peeling vegetables, cooking the dish and designing a restaurant. It’s appetizing to watch the colorful and juicy dishes that the chefs prepare. It’s interesting to see the innovations in preparing and cooking different types of dishes – western to Asian. There was one chef, who we believe has a Filipino background, who prepared a “halo-halo” dessert. The interaction, intrigues and relationship developed among the competing chefs keep the audience hooked and cheer for their favorite chef. There is a season 5 and we are looking forward to watching it also.

Appetizing Japanese Drama Series

I enjoy watching free Japanese drama online via http://www.tv-links.cc/ - some titles I already reviewed in one of my blogs in Multiply about Hooked on J-Drama.

Let me review two titles which combine food or gourmet and drama.The first title is a mystery/detective entitled “Kuitan” (meaning “Big Eating Detective”), a series about a detective named Takano who has the uncontrollable appetite in eating any kind of food and fights with his chopsticks. He belongs to the Holmes detective agency which includes a kid. The cases they solve – murder, kidnapping, robbery- usually have a connection to food – food quiz show, baking powder left as a clue, allergy to food, etc. Takano and his partners eat at the murder scene, at restaurants, at various food shops – their appetite leads to the solution of the case. While watching this series, you get to know the different kinds of Japanese food – sushi, okonomiyaki, nabemono, sweet bread, etc. It’s a mystery drama and comedy you will enjoy.



The second drama is “My Little Chef”, The story revolves on an unknown lady chef, Seri, who was assigned as a chef in a small French restaurant in Tokyo. Her special skill is that she prepares the food based on the background of the customer. She interviews the customers and prepares the appropriate dish for them. It’s interesting to watch her recreate the flavors her late father has mastered as a famous gourmet chef. She also concocts her own recipes based on the character or feelings of their customers. Each episode focuses on a specific customer who has his/her own story and the dish prepared by Seri somehow enlightens the customer about his/her life. If you love cooking and eating French food, this is an appetizing drama series.

Noah's Ark and Monster Cabbage: Jaman Movies

We watched animated movies for kids through the Jaman Player which we downloaded at the Jaman site: http://www.jaman.com/ for free. The movie, "Baby Miracle: Noah's Ark," uses the story of the Great Flood and Noah's Ark in introducing different kinds of animals from farm animals to wild animals to kids - especially ages six months to three years. The movie captures the attention of toddlers like Julia since they get acquainted to animals using music, puppetry and video.

Another Jaman animation movie our kids enjoyed was the "Day of the Cabbage." The movie features a giant cabbage monster from outer space that terrrorizes an all-vegetable character community. It's funny to watch tomatoes and bell pepper fighting a monster cabbage. It's a vegetable version of Godzilla or King Kong!.

We recommend that you visit the Jaman website especially if you want to watch independent movies shown in international festivals. Some moves are free. Others you can rent for a fee or for free if you have a free ticket. You get a free ticket if you invite friends to join Jaman.