ABDUCTION COMING TO TOKYO!

ABDUCTION FILM COMING TO TOKYO
FAMILIES/GOVERNMENT GET PRIVATE SCREENING


For Immediate Release
06/07/06


Washington, DC An award-winning film that’s made headlines in Japan and captured the attention of audiences and critics across North America will make its debut in Tokyo this month. “ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story” will be screened for the
Yokota family and other families of people kidnapped by North Korea, government officials, and the Japanese media on June 27th in the prestigious Tokyo FM Hall. The highly-anticipated event will be the first time the film has been shown in Japan.
“We’ve had an overwhelming demand from the Japanese public and the Japanese government to show this film in Tokyo,” said Chris Sheridan, who, with his wife Patty Kim, directed and produced the film. “The Japanese government and media are very eager to see this film shown in Japan and we decided we needed to bring it to them.”
The film documents the story of Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean spies. The feature-length documentary follows her parents’ 30-year struggle to bring her home.
The film’s premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah caused a media sensation, drawing nearly every major Japanese newspaper, TV and radio station to flock to its opening, overwhelming festival organizers. It also garnered excellent reviews from Variety and the Los Angeles Times, both of which praised the film. “ABDUCTION” went on to win the festival’s prestigious Audience Award for Best Documentary and has received critical praise from every reviewer to date. It has won three more awards since Slamdance and screened to sold out audiences across the country. The film continues to travel across North America and will make its Australian debut on June 17, at the
State Theatre (a 2,000 seat venue), as part of the Sydney Film Festival, the largest film event in the country.
This month’s event will be the first time that the main subjects, the Yokota family, along with other families, watch “ABDUCTION”. Sheridan and Kim will travel to Tokyo to attend the private invitation-only screening. At the moment, the June 27th event is the only scheduled screening of the film. “ABDUCTION” is not yet available to the general public.
Jane Campion, the Oscar-winning director of “The Piano”, is the film’s Executive Producer.
“ABDUCTION” is produced in association with the BBC, with the assistance of Fuji TV.

For media inquiries in the US, please contact Yuko Kawabe at safarimedia@yahoo.com
For media inquiries in Tokyo, please contact Kazoku-Kai.
For more information on the film, see www.safarimedia.net