FOR TRAILER, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE
Minoru Kawasaki's Executive Koala (Koara kachô) is scheduled to be screened at the 2006 Fantasia Festival in Montréal on Saturday July 22nd at 9:45 p.m.. The movie had its world première at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival (LVHIFF) in Honolulu on October 28th of last year.
The screenplay for Executive Koala was written by Kawasaki and Masakazu Migita, based on a story by the former. The movie's cast includes Hironobu Nomura, Elli-Rose (Erirôzu; a.k.a. Ellirose), Ho Lee (I Ho), Eiichi Kikuchi, Arthur Kuroda (Kuroda Âsâ), Hideki Saijô, Ryû Hariken, Megumi Yamanaka, Hitomi Takashima, and Chika Kumada.
Here's a description of Executive Koala from the Fantasia Festival website: "In some cases, it is best to let a film's press release speak for itself: 'Tamura is an average divorced salaryman in Japan - and also a man-sized, suit-and-tie wearing, upright-walking koala bear. Though not a human being, he's a successful businessman with ventures overseas who refuses to play office politics.' And what more could you possibly demand from cinema?! Tamura's corporate lifestyle is severaly cramped when his human girlfriend Yoko is mysteriously murdered and he finds himself a suspect with the police. Even worse, he learns the he is their only suspect! Tamura sets out on a mission to prove his innocence but is haunted by disturbing lapses in his memory. Does the Executive Koala truly know himself? ¶ Get set to experience the only film in existence that illustrates exactly why it's a good thing that koala fur doesn't show on white collars. Do we even need to tell you that EXECUTIVE KOALA is the latest production from brilliant oddball filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki, whose CALAMARI WRESTLER dropped countless jaws at Fantasia 2004? Like that film, one of the core charms of this one is that Tamura is the only koala bear character in it! Roughly 99 per cent of the characters are humans, who seem to think little of the fact that their co-worker is, well, a five-foot koala bear in a suit. That extra, more-or-less one per cent? Tamura regularly buys goods from a giant, human-sized frog, and his boss happens to be a giant, human-sized rabbit. The film is funny and absurdist but nonetheless manages to whip a few dark curveballs into the fax tray, along with some kung-fu and even a musical number. Did you really think a film tiled EXECUTIVE KOALA could restrain itself to being just one thing? Another example of why Japanese pop culture is the strangest and greatest in the world!"
For more information on Executive Koala, see ScreenAnarchy's third, second, and first articles on it.
Kawasaki's other directing credits include Kani Goalkeeper (Kani gôrukîpâ), Jissha-ban: Maicchingu Machiko sensei: Tôdai o-juken daisakusen!!, Kabuto-O Beetle (Kabuto-Ô Bîtoru) - a.k.a. "Beetle, the Horn King" - and The Calamari Wrestler (Ika resurâ).
Fantasia Festival: Executive Koala
Executive Koala trailer (streaming Windows Media)
Executive Koala official website
Kani Goalkeeper trailer (downloadable 15.5 MB WMV file)
Kani Goalkeeper official website
Jissha-ban: Maicchingu Machiko sensei: Tôdai o-juken daisakusen!! trailer (downloadable 13.5 MB WMV file - viewer discretion is advised)
Jissha-ban: Maicchingu Machiko sensei: Tôdai o-juken daisakusen!! official webpage
Kabuto-O Beetle trailer (downloadable 4.1 MB WMV file)
Kabuto-O Beetle official website
ScreenAnarchy: Kabuto-O Beetle review
The Calamari Wrestler trailer (downloadable 6.5 MB WMV file)
ScreenAnarchy: The Calamari Wrestler review
GOMORRAHY.com: Trailer Park subsite