Regent Releasing Acquires Official Japanese Oscar Entry, "Departures"

Regent Releasing Acquires Official Japanese Oscar Entry, "Departures"
Award-Winning International Festival Favorite Leads Japanese Academy Award Nominations and Gains Distribution in U.S.LOS ANGELES -- January 5, 2009 -- Regent Releasing, a leading independent film distribution company, announced today that it has acquired North American distribution rights to "Departures" (original title: "Okuribito"), the latest film from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Yojiro Takita. Regent acquired the film from international motion-picture studio and sales agent Shochiku Co., Ltd. and will distribute it in select U.S. cities this summer. "Departures" led the Japanese Academy Award nominations, receiving 13 nominations in total, including Best Picture and Best Director, and represents Japan as their foreign language entry for the 81st Annual Academy Awards."Departures" marks the newest addition to an impressive slate of first-rate international art-house and thought-provoking world cinema Regent has acquired in recent months, including the 2008 Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury prize winner, "Tokyo Sonata," Iran's Official entry for the 81st Academy Awards, "The Song of Sparrows," the 2008 Cannes Official Competition entry, "Serbis," and the 2009 Academy Award animation entry, "$9.99.""We are honored to bring Yojiro Takita's delightfully innovative feature to U.S. audiences this summer," said Mark Reinhart, West Coast General Manager and Executive Vice President Distribution and Acquisitions, Regent. "'Departures' is a perfect addition to Regent's award-winning 2009 slate and further establishes Regent as a leading distributor of the highest caliber of world cinema being made today," he added."Departures" recently won several festival awards including the Grand Prix des Ameriques Prize at the 32nd Montreal World Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 28th Hawaii International Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor at the prestigious Golden Rooster Awards in China. Director Yojiro Takita is one of Japan's most accomplished directors, whose works range from such comedic successes as "The Yen Family" and "We Are Not Alone," to the critically acclaimed "When The Last Sword Is Drawn," which won Best Film at the 2004 Japanese Academy Awards. "We are thrilled to be forging a wonderful relationship with Regent Releasing to bring this beautiful, moving and award-winning film from Yojiro Takita to U.S. theaters," said Masaki Koga, General Manager, Shochiku Co., Ltd. "The film has a universal theme of love and care offered to and given by lost ones and a respect towards life itself. We believe that the warm feeling that the film conveys will resonate strongly with a U.S. audience as well.""Departures" follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living. The acquisition deal for "Departures" was negotiated between Mark Reinhart for Regent, and Satoko Ishida of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

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