A short film written and directed by Hazuki Aikawa. Currently in post production.

Synopsis

Architecture student Ichiro decides to go cheap this New Year’s and not visit his family back in Japan. But living in an apartment in Times Square, he quickly finds the night more annoying than festive. Disgruntled by the tasteless bacchanal outside, he spends an anti-climatic countdown alone in his living room.

Meanwhile, the gods insist that no one should spend New Year’s alone…and send the Ghost of New Year’s to make noodles for Ichiro. Throughout the night, the ghost and Ichiro get to know each other the Japanese way: by rounds and rounds of sake. They exchange thoughts about relationships, culture differences, and future aspirations, and top off the night dancing in a drunken stupor. But the ghost has an agenda, and Ichiro has no idea that the fate of his new year is in her hands.

Director's Statement

The idea of A Happy New Year roots to true experiences that I had in my four years of living in the center of Times Square. My apartment was in the heart of New York; yet at times, no place could have been more isolated. On New Year's of 2006, I decided to stay in New York for the holidays. With the drunken crowd outside my window, I found the festivities just loud and annoying. I immediately regretted not having returned to Japan.

New Year's is the biggest holiday in Japan, and it is a time when family and friends get together in good spirits to wish each other well for a good and prosperous new year.  In Tokyo, the city is blooming all night long with events and parties. The shrines and temples open for visitors who come to enjoy the vibrant festivals on their grounds. In the home, we all gather by the TV and watch special "New Year's" programs. We play games in the kotatsu, a table with a comforter skirt and a heater underneath. And as a prayer for a long life, it is customary to eat long noodles (soba or udon) around when the time hits midnight.

The start of a new year is very important in the Japanese culture. The first greeting, the first shrine visit, the first dream you have–all are factors that shape the fate of your new year. So how you spend your new year's becomes crucial, and therefore no one likes to spend it alone.

 

Production Details

A Happy New Year was conceived as one of five short films in the project Big Apple Slices, an omnibus film compilation initiated by five writer/directors and a cinematographer who met in New York City. The idea was to tell stories of the diverse demographic of New York City. A Happy New Year was writer/director Hazuki Aikawa’s first film in Japanese, with much of the content based on her real experiences during her years as a graduate student living in an apartment in the heart of Times Square. The cast was native Japanese actors residing in New York; filming locations included Times Square and Brooklyn. The film used HD SLR cameras Canon 7D and Canon 5D Mark II and was entirely shot hand-held, a deliberate decision made to give the film a documentary-like feel.

Cast Bios

Tokio Sasaki is an actor born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, and is currently living in Los Angeles. After studying for two years at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Tokio transferred to CUNY – Hunter College where he earned a B.A. in Theatre. Tokio is best known for his performances in films including Dysfunctional Book Club, Seibutsu ("Still Life"), and Lawrence, where he won Best Actor at the First Run Film Festival in 2007. His NYC theater credits include Dr. Domoku in LUNA and Strindberg's A Dream Play. Tokio recently became a member of the Herbert Berghof Ensemble Theatre Company and has been performing with the group to date.

Hazuki Homma is a dancer born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, and is currently living in New York City. She has studied at Dance New Amsterdam and has worked with such choreographers as Mariah Molony, Jenny Jenonius, Naoko Kikuchi, and others. She recently appeared in Lasanta by the image-based performance company Sintroca at the Ontological Theater at St. Mark's Church. She has also performed with Garnica Leimay AcTs Lab in A Timeless Kaidan as part of the New York Butoh Festival, presented by CAVE and The Japan Society. Hazuki has also participated in a movement-theater piece produced by Aylam Orian.

Kanako Yokota is a contemporary dancer from Sendai City, Japan. Having earned multiple awards and accolades early in her career, she moved to New York as international trainee of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and is now performing in various platforms of art. 

 

                           “A Happy New Year”
                             Noka Productions

Cast

Ichiro…………………………………………………… Tokio Sasaki
Sadako……………………………………………. Hazuki Homma
Girl………………………………………………….. Kanako Yokota

Crew

Directed by………………………………………… Hazuki Aikawa
Written by………………………………………….. Hazuki Aikawa
Director of Photography……………………. Andrey Alistratov
First Assistant Director  ……………………………. Erika Sanz
Second Camera……………………………………. Joseph Birch
Assistant Camera………………………….. Manuela Senatore
Sound Recordist and Mixer………………….. Soichiro Migita
Assistant Sound Recordist……… Matheus Parizi Carvalho
Make Up Artist……………………………………… Ruico Oshika
Props…………………………………………….. Reiko Hasegawa
Gaffer…………………………………………….. Andrey Alistratov
Swing………………………………………………….. Joseph Birch
                                                             Manuela Senatore
                                                   Matheus Parizi Carvalho
Production Assistant………………………….. Shuji Suzumori
Set Production………………………………….. Shuji Suzumori
                                                                           So Sugita

Choreography…………………………………… Hazuki Homma
Editor………………………………………………. Yu Nakajima