I've never seen a snowfall like this in Tokyo before

14th of January, 2013. When I woke up and looked out of my window, I was stunned to see this scenery.

Solo adventures at Kanazawa (part 1)

This is how I would start my travelogue...

"The passing days and months are eternal travellers in time. The years that come and go are travellers too. Life itself is a journey; and as for those who spend their days upon the waters in ships and those who grow old leading horses, their very home is the open road. And some poets of old there were who died while travelling.
There came a day when the clouds drifting along with the wind aroused a wanderlust in me, and I set off on a journey to roam along the seashores. I returned to my hut on the riverbank last autumn, and by the time I had swept away the cobwebs, the year was over.
But when spring came with its misty skies, the god of temptation possessed me with a longing to pass the Barrier of Shirakawa, and road gods beckoned, and I could not set my mind to anything. So I mended my breeches, put new cords on my hat, and as I burned moxa on my knees to make them strong, I was already dreaming of the moon over Matsushima.
I sold my home and moved into Sampû’s guest house, but before I left my cottage I composed a verse and inscribed it on a poem strip which I hung upon a pillar:

This rude hermit cell
Will be different now, knowing Dolls’
Festival as well."

But alas, these words were already written, centuries earlier, by the poet Matsuo Basho, in his masterpiece "The Narrow Road in the Deep North".

Almost a week had gone by since I came back from Kanazawa. How would I chronicle such a trip then?

TINY PUPIL's 4-year-old actress wins best actress award at Yxine Film Festival

This happened last month, Chen Yu Ting, the (very young) lead actress of Teng Fei's TINY PUPIL (which I produced) had won the Best Female Performance award at the Yxine Film Festival.

None of us were able to attend the award ceremony in Hanoi on the 15th of December, so Chen Yu Ting accepted her award on video. She was 4 when the film was shot, 5 this year.

She also showed that her talent extended beyond just acting.

Countdown to New Year 2013 at Senso-ji Temple

It it unbelievable that I was having my fifth New Year countdown in Japan already.

You can immediately watch the video here if you are too lazy to read what I have to say.

Mannequins of Ginza

This will be the last video I put together for 2012.

Of Mannequins in Ginza.

In truth, it's more like my impressions of Ginza.

[VIDEO] Train Ride to Otaru with Dad

The year is about to end.

There is less than 24 hours left in the year 2012 for me. I wish to end the year the way I wanted to start the next. Just to keep on doing what I love to do, working on my craft, seeing more things.

This is a video that I shot in September 13th, 2012 (my sister's birthday!) when Dad and I took a train to the town of Otaru in Hokkaido. At that time, we were in Hokkaido for the Sapporo Short Film Festival where my short film LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER was screening. (I would later pick up an award from the festival)

The footages I shot were left in my hard disk for quite a few months, I decided to finally cut them together.

Christmas lights in Shinjuku 2012

Since I do not have the luxury of being on a plane flying back from Estonia like last Christmas, yesterday, I decided to just go to my familiar stomping grounds at Shinjuku for dinner and also to check out its illumination.

If you are too lazy to read my heartfelt writing, you can just watch my video of Christmas Illumination in Shinjuku. Now.

Manoel de Oliveira turns 104 today.

Today (December 11th) is the 104th birthday of Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira. This blows my mind.

He is currently the oldest active director in the world (unless the Spanish director Miguel Morayta, who is year older than Oliveira and retired since 1978, suddenly chooses to come back to make another film) and has remained prolific since he made his first film in 1927. (he became exceptionally prolific since 1990, when he would make at least one film every year until now)

Again, it blows my mind when I realized that Oliveira is actually older than the likes of Orson Welles, all of the French New Wave directors, Akira Kurosawa, Frederico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman... When GONE WITH THE WIND came out, Oliveira was already 30. When Orson Welles made CITIZEN KANE, Oliveira was already in his mid-30s. Oliveira was 50 when a group of French guys made films that spark what we now call the French New Wave.

I can go on and on with this, but I will share with you an Oliveira tale.

I AM NOT THE WORLD YOU WANT TO CHANGE by Izumi Takahashi [Tokyo Filmex 2012]

Izumi Takahashi's (高橋泉) I AM NOT THE WORLD YOU WANT TO CHANGE あたしは世界なんかじゃないから is one of the two Japanese films in competition at the Tokyo Filmex this year. (The other is Odayaka, which I, being the editor of its trailer, have seen much too many times)

EPILOGUE by Amir Manor [Tokyo Filmex 2012]

Having attended the Tokyo Filmex three times, this year marks the very first time when I actually got to catch the Grand Prix winner in the festival.

MEMORIES LOOK AT ME by Song Fang [Tokyo Filmex 2012]

The Tokyo Filmex ended a few days ago. I was surprised that I had managed to catch all three of the award-winning films. (well, except Kim Ki-Duk's PIETA, which won the Audience Award)

MEMORIES LOOK AT ME 记忆望着我 by Song Fang 宋方 is a Chinese docudrama that received the Special Jury Prize at Filmex. It was also the Best First Feature award winner at the Locarno Film Festival.