26-05-2015

PRODUCTION: Māris Martinsons in Preproduction with Magic Kimono

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    Magic Kimono by Maris Martinsons Magic Kimono by Maris Martinsons

    RIGA: Director Māris Martinsons will begin shooting a Latvian/Estonian/Japanese feature length modern-day fairytale, Magic Kimono / Maģiskais kimono, in August 2015. The film is a coproduction between Krukfilms in Latvia, OREE Films in Estonia, and Loaded in Japan.

    Magic Kimono is a story of a Japanese woman’s rediscovery of her heart and long lost self via tragicomic encounters through the art of the kimono and the meeting of Japanese and European food culture. Keiko, a Japanese woman in her 60’s, joins a group of other Japanese women traveling to Northern Europe to participate in kimono show. During her performance in beautiful art nouveau Riga, she suddenly comes face-to-face with her husband who disappeared twenty years ago, and the two break into an argument. She decides to stay and establish a Japanese restaurant in Riga, but the locals have a very peculiar understanding of Japanese food and culture. In the midst of despair, Keiko meets a young chef and they develop a connection with food becoming a language bridging the different cultures of Japan and Europe.

    The film is being made on an estimated 1.4m EUR budget with shooting to start on 15 August 2015 and the premiere set for spring 2016. The estimated length of the film will be 100 minutes.

    The development has been supported by Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation, Live Riga, the National Film Centre of Latvia, the Riga City Council and the State Cultural Capital Foundation. Production is supported by the Riga Film Fund, Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho) in Japan and Daiwa House. The producers are still working on finding support for the production of the feature.

    Production Information:

    Krukfilms
    Kalnciema 1A-11
    Riga, LV 1048, Latvia
    Phone: +371 220 51060 (Latvia), +370 687 13375 (Lithuania)
    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Oree Films (Estonia)
    +372 5165242,
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Credits:
    Director: Māris Martinsons
    Script: Māris Martinsons
    Cinematographer: Gints Bērziņš
    Producer: Linda Krukle (Latvia), Sten-Kristian Saluveer (Estonia), Eiko Mizuno Gray and Jason Gray (Japan)