A company that creates thought-provoking media for science and the arts.
Our film REFLECTION: production restarts
A year ago, we started production on a short film called Reflection. The film was about a gender non-conforming kid finding comfort with his own identity at the start of his modeling career. It was an experimental and abstract piece that was shot beautifully with the RED camera, but the topic of the film was too complicated to describe without words.
We've since then been working on a script to expand the story to a more fuller, richer world of the kid, focusing on his childhood and his relationship with his mother. This April, with the gracious aid of many many friends in the film industry who offered their expertise on set, we were able to make the remaining shoot days happen. A very big thank you to Erika Sanz, Andrey Radovski, Yoko Morishita, Aksel Stasny, Josh Batista, Kristina Vega, and Begoña Colomar, for taking on these days of shooting with smiles and support even under the most unluxurious conditions.
The role of the mother and child were complex, both individually and together. Our two very talented actors Leah Cogan and James Cicarelle handled these challenging roles with much dedication and thought, and their performance on camera was nothing less than stellar. The film is in post production now, and we will be giving updates on its progress frequently from here on.
OOTOYA Restaurant News
For several times now, we've worked with one of the most tastiest new Japanese restaurants in NYC, OOTOYA, which is located near West 18th Street and Broadway.
Some of well-known and popular Japanese dishes such as sushi, tempura, and kaiseki (traditional multi-course meals) are not quite every day meals in Japan. More commonly found on everyday dining table is known as "ofukuro no aji," or taste of mom's home cooking prepared with fresh ingredients with a high concern for overall nutritious values and balance. OOTOYA's specialty is this traditional home cooking in set-meal style, or teishoku.
This spring, we worked with them to create corporate videos and promotional videos as they prepare for the launch of their second store in Times Square.
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http://www.ootoya.us
Hazuki has always been a fan of OOTOYA, all the way back to her college days when she frequented their Shibuya restaurant after late-night partyi..(ahem) studying. OOTOYA New York offers the same comfort and yummy food. Shooting this while customers savor their teishoku was a challenge indeed!
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LILLIAN enters Cleveland International Film Festival
A big congratulations to the short film LILLIAN, on which Andrey was Director of Cinematography and Hazuki was Assistant Camera, for entering Cleveland International Film Festival. A big shout out to producer/director Amanda Pennington for bringing together such a beautiful piece.
LILLIAN is a film inspired by 19th Century Pulitzer Prize winning poet, activist, feminist Edna St. Vincent Millay's Poem "What Lips My Lips Have Kissed". It is a memory piece, exploring the relationship between two women, taking place between 1940 and 1918. The film opens in 1940 with Lillian Manning (Tony Nominee Kathleen Chalfant) engaged in bittersweet reflection of a love lost—a reverie that began in 1918 as an innocent encounter between a younger Lillian (Amanda Pennington) and Frances Duthu (Toni Robison-May), and what unfolded into a sweet same sex romance bound by unsuppressed emotion.
We hope this film does well not only in CIFF but also in other festivals!
Annual Oscars Party
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This has become an annual Noka event now, but a bunch of filmmakers and film enthusiasts gathered to watch the Academy awards unfold. Yes of course, there was some cute betting involved. Why would you not spice up the night with a little bit of risk?
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This year, about 30 guests got together and all cast in their votes for Oscars 2013. Some voted for ARGO, some voted for Amour…votes were very diverse this year, which made the competition all the more interesting. When watched with good company, your missed predictions seem more forgivable. You turn around to the next person and ask, "You actually LIKED that movie?" Hear why, and you might be convinced. At the end of the day, it's all about discussing and enjoying film.
We want to thank everyone who trekked out to Brooklyn to join us for this fun night. We hope you had as much fun as we had. To all our guests and and also to those who couldn't make it this year—watch out for Oscars 2014!
A Happy New Year!
We would like to thank everyone who supported us, worked with us, and have been with us this last year. Noka is a small production company with big aspirations, and we cannot complete a single project without the help from the people around us. We are thankful to have met each and every one of you, and we hope the relationship is a long lasting one. Many wishes for a grand and prosperous 2013!
Last Statement
This fall, Andrey and Hazuki co-directed a very compelling film called LAST STATEMENT. It combines the chilling tales of actual inmates awaiting their executions on Death Row. Orla Wolf, German playwright, manufactured a spellbinding narrative that strings these first person accounts into one continuous story.
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Led by project director Juliane Block, a film director who resides in Berlin, this production was made possible by a series of co-directors from Germany, Canada, and USA. We represented New York. Other directors were: Juliane Block, Todd Felderstein, Rebecca Hu, Will McCord, Marty Shea, Bruno Simoes, Jacob Steiger, John Versical, and Ernest Worthing. We all had complete artistic control over our parts and collectively discussed how it should all come together–a truly collaborative effort. Currently in the last stages of post production, LAST STATEMENT will soon be competing in film festivals worldwide. To follow, please visit its facebook page.
The controversy of the death penalty is a complicated one. This film is not out to make a political statement, but prefers to provoke thought to the matter. These were real people, real lives. Who are we to judge?
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."
-J.R.R. Tolkien