February 2007
Special screening “107+1, Paradise is for the making”
+Director, producer “Tentsukuman” Live Talk
+Writing poem for you performance
Date: February 25, 2007, Sunday, door open 12:30pm, start at 1:00pm
Place: The Holiday Inn Torrance
19800 South Vermont, Torrance, CA 90502 / Tel: (310) 781-9100
Advance Ticket: $10, at the door $15, children under 12 free
“Make the heaven, LA” is composed of people in the Los Angeles area who were deeply moved by this Japanese independent documentary film. The organization held two public screenings of the film for the first time in Los Angeles in November, 2004, and the second time in May, 2005, followed by a couple of private showing. “107+1: Paradise is for the making” has touched the audience hearts at each screening. We are excited about the opportunity to deliver the spirit of Paradise making again.
The film “107+1: Paradise is for the making” is a documentary film about “Tentsuku-man (A man who creates a Paradise on the Earth),” a.k.a. Hiromitsu Noriyasu, and his comrades who accomplished three different projects in Okinawa in the attempt to create a Paradise on the Earth. The three projects are 1) to pick up garbage and clean the city, 2) to knit rainbow-color scarves 1km-long (0.7 mile) for the children in Afghanistan, and 3) to canoe from Okinawa to Kagoshima (600 miles) on a traditional Okinawan rowing boat. The film documents a group of Japanese youngsters who lack money, special skills/knowledge, or experiences in social activities, mature through the projects in enthusiastic, amusing, and touching ways.
What does “Paradise” mean in this movie? “Tentsuku-man” believes that a Paradise is to enjoy alive in this world and not after death. Based on this spirit, “Tentsuku-man” encourages individuals to act whenever something touches their hearts. For example, when you see garbage on the street, how do you feel? Disgusted or nothing? You probably ignore it. The street will be a little cleaner if you care to pick up the garbage.
If you see children in Afghanistan freezing in cold, you want to do something to help them, don’t you? A rainbow-color scarf project is started by a young girl who wants to keep the Afghan children warm. One person can knit only so many scarves alone, and the goal of 1 km long appears unattainable. She has to involve other people to join her by speaking up.
Anybody can feel sympathy, but without acting, nothing happens. If you act, however, something definitely changes. Your action affects others to act, which influences the other people to act, and so on-Ripple Effect. If everybody acts, we can change the world. For “Tentsuku-man”, a “Paradise” is made by the accumulation of these small actions and the great joy that comes from being involved in such actions.
Youngsters, called samurais in the film, also go on a life-risking adventure. Without any experiences in canoeing, they train themselves, learn from the elders and specialists about the ocean, and restore the dumped canoes, called sabani. Through the process of training and rebuilding wrecked sabanis, young samurais gain confidence. Against all odds, they are determined to cross the sea from Okinawa to Kagoshima. By achieving what seemed impossible, the samurais learn to trust themselves and teammates. They are empowered to make a Paradise on their own. People in Okinawa provide them warm support, which was indispensable for the success of the project. The samurais affected Okinawans by showing their commitments.
“107+1: Paradise is for the making” has touched many people in Japan. The film gives people courage. Currently in Japan, over 30,000 people commit suicide every year. The enthusiasm of the youngsters documented in the film helped people to regain dreams and hopes for the future. And we want to share the spirit of this film with the people in America. We hope to reach people in this country who are praying for peace and struggling to restore harmony in their communities as well as in the world. This documentary might give us some hints for regaining faith in humanity and in our ability to change the world for the better. We would like to share this film with you, and discuss with you how we start making a Paradise in this community.
Make the Heaven,LA
Tel: (626) 570-1481-Yoko Ano
e-mail: love10LA@yahoo.co.jp