The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (ACA) is sponsoring the seventh ACA Cinema Project–Emerging Japanese Films–as the cornerstone of its Japan Overseas Expansion Enhancement Project. Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) serves as the steward for the encore of this screening series. Three recently released, prestigious theatrical titles headline the event, which runs from Tuesday, September 26, through Thursday, September 28, at the Linwood Dunn Theater, Hollywood. Festivities are free of charge for accredited entertainment industry professionals.
Launching the ACA Cinema Project on September 26 at 7 p.m. is the stateside debut of Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s quirky, character-driven, road trip drama Yoko (2022; TRT: 113 minutes). Yoko represents the longtime professional reunion of director Kumakiri and Oscar®-nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi (Tokyo Vice, Babel). Yoko marks the 20-year follow-up to their initial collaboration, 2001 Rotterdam International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize winner Hole in the Sky.
ACA Cinema Project offers two additional new films for Los Angeles cinephiles. Set for September 27 is Ripples (2023; TRT: 120 minutes), a dark comedy from director Naoko Ogigami, a USC film school graduate, 2007 Sundance Film Fest nominee (Gasses, Megane), and director of the quietly intense critical favorite Riverside Mukolitta (2022). In Ripples, Ogigami spins a yarn about a repressed matriarch and unfortunately over-the-top circumstances–a disquieting earthquake, crushing debt, a dying ex-husband, a raging co-worker, and her son’s girlfriend–that take her to the brink.
Wrapping ACA Cinema Project on September 28 is Tea Friends (2023; TRT: 135 minutes) from director Bunji Sotoyama. An original story inspired by true events, Tea Friends, in famous Sotoyama fashion, offers a somewhat out-of-the-box take on intimate entanglements of the elderly. The latest title from ENBU Seminar, producers of the surprise smash hit zombie comedy One Cut of the Dead (2017), Tea Friends revolves around the youthful staff of a call girl club that caters to the elderly, said club’s mature female escorts, and the ladies’ lonely male retiree clients.
Each day’s film starts at 7 p.m. The schedule for in-person and virtual filmmaker discussions after film exhibitions will be announced in September.
Differences bubble up between PepsiCo and Coca-Cola on diversity programs
PepsiCo confirmed Friday that it's ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, even as rival Coca-Cola voiced support for its own inclusion efforts.
In a memo sent to employees, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base. The company will also align its sponsorships to events and groups that promote business growth, he said.
Laguarta wrote that inclusion remains important to PepsiCo, whose brands include Gatorade, Lay's potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi. The Purchase, New York-based company's chief diversity officer will transition to a broader role focused on employee engagement, leadership development and ensuring an inclusive culture, he said.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, U.S. government agencies, companies and schools have rushed to reevaluate policies and programs they adopted with the goal of reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people.
Trump ended DEI programs within the federal government and has warned schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money.
PepsiCo's rollback came as Coca-Cola reaffirmed support for its DEI efforts.
In its annual report, Atlanta-based Coke warned that its business could be negatively affected if it is unable to attract employees that reflect its broad range of customers.
"Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion … could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success," the company said.
Coca-Cola has set a goal of having women in 50% of its senior leadership roles by... Read More