Serge the Concierge

Closing Night for NY Food Film Festival 2009, June 19 at Water Taxi Beach

Darn, it's almost over and I did not even get a chance to sample their fares.

It was the 3rd Edition of the NYCFoodFilmFestival and Closing Night is Friday, June 19.

It takes place at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City (Queens).

Doors open at 7pm and here's what's on the menu:

7:45pm - Closing Ceremonies and Awards
8:30pm - Come Have An Omelette With Me
8:30pm - Save The Honey Bees
8:35pm - Mr. Okra
8:45pm - In The Kitchen With Marcus Samuelsson
8:50pm - Mandarin
9:15pm - Power Of The Peep

No long form here, more like an Amuse Bouche as the video below illustrates.

I just hope for them that the rain stops from falling.

June 19, Written By (Hong Kong) kicks off NY Asian Film Festival 2009

No it's not movie week on 'Serge the Concierge', it just happens that the New York Asian Film Festival 2009 opening night is Friday, June 19.

It kicks off with the world premiere (I believe) of Written By, a Hong Kong movie, at the IFC Center at 9pm.

Written by's director Wai Ka-fai will be present.

Described "as a Charlie Kaufman (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND) version of a Hong Kong drama" with Lau Ching-wan as the main character:

Here's a quick take on the film (from festival program notes):

"Lau Ching-wan plays a lawyer who dies in a car accident, leaving his daughter, Melody, blind and making his wife a widow. To cheer up her mom, Melody writes a book in which the family died but dad survived. And in her book, to cheer himself up, dad decides to write a book in which he died in the accident but his wife and daughter survived....and so it goes in an endlessly recursive loop as the dead are resurrected in fiction, which bleeds into reality, which turns into tragedy which sends the story spinning off into greater and grander realms of fantasy as mourning children and their parents attempt to have one more minute, just another thirty seconds, with their departed loved ones. Using the form of the Hong Kong melodrama, the movie is shot like a yuppie fantasia full of improbably large apartments, photogenic cemeteries and antique street cars running through the city. But these glam trappings hide a troubled heart in which life is hard and only fiction can protect us from the sharp edges."

The 8th New York Asian Film Festival presented by Subway Cinema runs from June 19 to July 5, 2009 at the IFC Center and the Japan Society which offers Japan Cuts, its series of New Japanese Films from June 30 to July 12.

For daily updates on coming and goings, changes and inside information, check Subway Cinema News.

Related: Eatrip, People, Food and Rituals, A Japanese Film by Yuri Nomura 

Eatrip, People, Food and Rituals, A Japanese Film by Yuri Nomura

We crave quality time. Sharing a meal and some wine with friends is one of the best ways to do that.

This is a communal experience.

Released in Japan in June 2009, the documentary film Eatrip (Japanese site) by Yuri Nomura looks at the various ways that we relate to food.

Eriko Arita, in her review New film offers food for thought (Japan Times, June 12), notes that the director interviewed people from all walks of life, not just high flyers but also "Naoko Morioka, a housewife living in Yanbaru, on the northern part of Okinawa's main island. Morioka, who doesn't have a refrigerator in her house, lives a self-sufficient life, growing vegetables for her and her family to eat."

Not sure if and when the movie will be available outside Japan.

In the meantime, check the trailer (above) courtesy of Nippon Cinema.

Life and Food for Tokyo Thursdays # 92

Previously: Spring Noodle Slurping in Tokyo, 7 of the Best Soba Restaurants by Yukari Sakamoto

Related: Japanese Foodie Film: Mitsuhiro Mihara's "Shiawase no Kaori (Flavor of Happiness)"

Movies Brooklyn Style, BAMcinemaFest, Opening Night is June 17

Opening Night for BAMcinemaFest is June 17.

The 1st Edition of this Movie Festival 'Brooklyn Style' kicks off with the New York Premiere of Don't Let Me Drown (picture below).

Here's what the program notes tell us about the movie.

“One of the best film portraits yet of New York City in the aftermath of 9/11” (Hollywood Reporter), Don’t Let Me Drown explores the moving love story between two teens as they deal with the repercussions the WTC attacks had on their families, as well as prejudices
within their Latino communities. With incredibly moving and realistic performances by the young leads, an emotionally affecting and humorous script, a neo-realist aesthetic, and authentic Brooklyn locations, director Cruz Angeles crafts a love story that delicately captures New York City overcoming adversity and struggling to begin anew. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. NY Premiere! Co-presented with Sundance Posse, the alumnae organization of Sundance Institute."

BAMcinemaFest runs until July 2nd...

June 11-15, Ciudad Emergente, Buenos Aires happening Feast of Music, Movies and Street Art

Starting with live music with Spanish singer Russian Red (pictured below), local bands like Bicicletas and Onda Vaga to rockumentaries, Ciudad Emergente ('Emerging City) will open its 2nd Edition on June 11 and run until June 15 in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

 

Unfortunately the english option of Ciudad Emergente official site does not seem to work, offers only pictures no text at this time, might be fixed by the time the event kicks off.

From what my limited Spanish allowed me to gather, Fashion, Movies, Digital Art as well as Art Exhibits traveling around town over the course of the festival so they can be seen by all are also on the menu.

Sounds like a fun experience.

No To Nobu, Save the Bluefin Tuna Celebs Like Sting say According to The Independent

In his June 5, 2009 piece in The Independent, Celebrity diners say no to Nobu, Martin Hickman writes:

Protesting actors, pop stars, models and socialites have started a celebrity backlash against the A-list's favourite restaurant Nobu for selling an endangered fish.Sienna Miller, Charlize Theron, Jemima Khan, Sting and his film producer wife Trudie Styler are among 31 signatories of a letter to the Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa appealing for him to remove bluefin tuna from his global restaurant empire so that they can "dine with a clear conscience".

Seems like the whole brouhaha started, the articles states after "Kate Goldsmith, the Rothschild heiress, gathered support for the letter after she and her husband Ben Goldsmith watched a preview of a film about overfishing, The End of the Line."

The documentary whose trailer is shown above is set to be released in June 2009.

Are we really running out of fish?

Pressure Cooker, The School of Stock, Coming to a Theater near You

If you like documentaries, inspirational stories, cooking, close ups of chopping and steaming (not steamy) scenes, Pressure Cooker, the movie which opened on May 27 (2009) at the IFC Center in New York, gives you a behind the scenes look at what it takes to whip up a good meal and keep your cool while serving from 10's to 100's of people.

Here's a quick synopsis of the movie:

"Three seniors at Philadelphia's Frankford High School find an unlikely champion in the kitchen of Wilma Stephenson. A legend in the school system, Mrs. Stephenson's hilariously blunt boot-camp method of teaching Culinary Arts is validated by years of scholarship success. Against the backdrop of the row homes of working-class Philadelphia, she has helped countless students reach the top culinary schools in the country. And under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school are swept aside as Erica, Dudley and Fatoumata prepare to achieve beyond what anyone else expects from them."

After New York, Pressure Cooker opens in Los Angeles and Pasadena on June 5th, Philadelphia on June 12 and Seattle around the same date.

A screening followed by Q & A set up by IndieGoGo was part of the opening events for Internet Week New York 2009 which kicked off June 1 and runs until June 8.

Related: A Restaurant...Backstage...In 40 shots by Michael Harlan Turkell

Did I sign up for South by Southwest in my Sleep? my.SXSW makes me wonder

A funny thing happened on my way to running errands on Tuesday.

The following message popped up in my e-mail:

Welcome to my.SXSW

Hi Serge Lescouarnec,

Thank you for registering to attend SXSW 2009, it's our pleasure to invite you to use my.SXSW—a feature-rich overhaul of the Online Registrants Directory. We understand that folks attend SXSW to network with like-minded people—which is why we think you'll find this an invaluable tool before and during the event.

Created by The Social Collective with your needs in mind, my.SXSW allows you to communicate with other registrants and attendees year-round—its messaging system integrates with Twitter—and join groups of attendees with specific interests. You can also build a personal schedule for SXSW 2009, sign up for SXSW Alerts, and upload a badge photo.

To get started with my.SXSW just login

We hope you enjoy my.SXSW and are looking forward to seeing you in March.

The only thing is I do not remember registering for South by Southwest.

Did someone register me?

Did my panel idea From Consumed to Thrifty: Strategies for the Good Life in a Wobbly Economy get the green light late and no one bothered to tell me?

Did I register in my sleep and failed to realize?

I am puzzled.

Maybe Brian Brushwood of Revision 3 (is he really) who will share "tricks on how to scam your way into ANYTHING, whether it's a business meeting or a hot-ticket event" and other ways to "Scam Your Way Into Anything or From Anybody" on February 13 at 5pm did it to prove his point?

Could be Lane Becker (Get Satisfaction) who is offering on Sunday (March 15) a panel similar to the one I had in mind titled "What Do I Do With Myself, Now that the Economy Has Collapsed?" get me a freebie as a consolation prize?

If I don't make it at the last minute to Austin, should I take Luke Johnson advice in The hot money is in live performance (FT, March 3) stating that in this recession "entire events are being canceled while individuals will fork out to be there in person for pleasure" and so far "it seems that being able to say “I was there” matters more when it comes to a concert than a conference."

Would my money be better spent on a frugal vacation?

An amusing twist to my week

In the meantime I am able to send messages and comments to my fellow "attendees".

Are some of them shadow ones like myself?

Bonne soiree!

Related: Just Over 50 and Not Dead Yet

Shinjuku Ecstasy...Last Week End of Independent Japanese Films in New York

In and around New York between February 27 and March 1st treat yourself to a week-end of Independent Japanese Films at the Japan Society in New York.

The program titled Shinjuku Ecstasy (Independent Films from the Art Theatre Guild of Japan) started on February 18 and ends on March 1st so it's your last chance to catch it (picture below from 'A Man Vanishes').

On the program this week-end are:

Fri., Feb. 27
7:30 pm This Transient Life

Sat., Feb. 28
3 pm A Man Vanishes
5:45 pm Crazy Love

Sun., Mar. 1
3 pm Pitfall
5:15 pm Ecstasy of the Angels

The program notes give some context as to the creation of these movies:

Founded in 1961 as a distributor of European art films in Japan, the Art Theater Guild (ATG) began co-producing independent films in 1967, and quickly established itself as the leading platform for highly experimental and innovative film.

This 12-film series curated by Roland Domenig and Go Hirasawa focuses on the first decade of ATG and on the Shinjuku Bunka, ATG's flagship theater, which formed a unique intersection of filmmakers and artists of all kind in Shinjuku, the center of Japan’s vibrant counterculture.

Was it like Japan 'Nouvelle Vague'?

Celluloid Heroes for Tokyo Thursdays # 77

Last week:  Hedgehog leads me to Villa Kujoyama, a French Artist Den in Japan

Othello in Korean, Festival/ Tokyo 09 (Performing Arts) Kicks Off February 26

If you are passionate about theater, dance and all forms of performing arts Festival/ Tokyo 09 is worth checking.

I noticed 'Othello' by a South Korean troop.

For those with their mind set on philosophy and the markets "Karl Marx: Capital, Volume One", a German contribution could be the one.

The Event kicks off on February 26 (Thu) and closes on March 29 (Sun).

It offers 14 performances presented by Festival/Tokyo and 5 performances co-presented by Festival/Tokyo and Festival/Tokyo Projects (Symposium/Station/Crew) at the following locations:

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Medium Hall, Small Hall 1&2
Owlspot Theater (Toshima Performing Arts Center)
Nishi-Sugamo Arts Factory
and a few others

The Festival/ Tokyo 09 Blog offers a behind the scenes look at the event.

Food for thought on the menu of Tokyo Thursdays # 75

Last Week: Tokyo Metro Posters 'This is not your living room' Metro Etiquette