First a brief update. The street protest and press conference in July went off very well. The overall impression is that there is more energy around this issue than ever before. There have also been a number of newspaper articles most recently The Japan Times ran a piece last Tuesday: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080812zg.html

and there are more articles planned to come out soon in both Japanese and English press. 

We hope you find the updated website with Japanese pages easy to navigate. We would love to hear any comment or questions.

Please contact us at: dave@fromtheshadowsmovie.com

Dave Matt and Sean

As I'm sure you can see by now the film's name has changed to From The Shadows and the website has changed to: www.fromtheshadowsmovie.com and we now have Japanese pages to go along with our English version. To briefly bring you up to date, we had a very productive Spring. We shot miles of tape and began the editing process in April in Los Angeles and after some time for employment obligations we plan to make another push on the film from August. Dave will work on the film for two months and Matt will work spend over a month working exclusively on the film. During this time we will be making a big push for fundraising and ask everyone to consider making a donation or asking their friends and relations to consider doing the same. For more information please contact us at: dave@fromtheshadowsmovie.com 

There has been a lot of activity concerning this issue. On May 9th the Asahi newspaper reported that Japan will join the Hague treaty as early as 2010. Though there have been no concrete steps or any more detailed plans have been announced since it is apparent that the government is at least thinking about the issue and there is a sense something might happen. Tomorrow, On July 13th there will be a street demonstration with the "Oyakonet" group here in Japan. Mr Munakata and Mr. Morita are the contacts for that. Their e-mail is: oyakonet2008@yahoo.co.jp  There will also be a press conference at FCCJ in Tokyo on July 14th and a televised news story about the issue will be out on: http://www.aptn.com/ very soon. 

Please send along any questions or comments to Dave at the above e-mail address.

Thanks for reading and please keep checking back. 

Dave, Matt and Sean

Feel free to contact us at anytime as we are still very much in touch through cyberspace.

For Now,

Dave, Matt and Sean

We wanted to take a moment to update everyone on the project. Since the last post in January we have been very busy trying to raise funds for the film. We are proud to announce that we have had some significant early success that has allowed us to plan for a month of work on the project from March 22nd through April 25th. We will be busy mostly in the US making stops in Hawaii, Los Angeles and the east coast to talk to left behind parents and also experts on the issue. From April 26th we will return to work and the fundraising efforts for the remainder of spring and then make a big push from summer on to finish the film for the submission dates of Sundance, Cannes and Toronto for screenings in 2009.

We will post periodic updates and you can always reach us at: dave@fortakaandmana.com for direct communication.

Thanks for checking in. More soon,

Dave and Matt

Let's start by getting you up to date. Our event back on December 11th was a huge success. 

More than anything else there was a feeling of great hope that when the film reaches completion it could 

really attract attention to this issue and get it to the level of importance it deserves. 

We have been busy preparing ourselves for the period starting spring 2008 when both Matt and I will spend more time and effort to finish the final edit in time to submit the film to Sundance, Cannes and Toronto in 2009.

Our most recent clip is up on our website home page (www.fortakaandmana.com) and if you haven't seen that please have a look and drop us a line to tell us what you think. We also ask those who are planning to give to charity to consider our film as a worthy cause. Visit the "Get Involved" page at our website to choose the donation option most convenient for you.

Thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from you soon and please check back here to see more updates throughout the year. 

Matt and Dave  

It will be at the Pink Cow restaurant: http://www.thepinkcow.com/NewMap_e.htm

in Shibuya on December 11th starting at 7:30.

Tickets cost 10,000 yen. Come watch the new trailer, hear discussion from experts and meet left behind parents.

We very much hope to get the momentum started to bring this issue into the spotlight.

Please come out, support the film and join the effort.

Contact: dave@fortakaandmana.com for tickets or more information. 

Regards,

Dave and Matt

Dave and Matt