95 And 6 To Go

Directed by Kimi Takesue

Documentary Competition / USA / 2016 / 86 mins / English / Color / 4:3, D-Cinema / Los Angeles Premiere

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95 AND 6 TO GO

CGV Cinemas 2
May 3, 2017 7:00 pm

Description

Kimi Takesue in attendance!

In the charming documentary 95 AND 6 TO GO, filmmaker Kimi Takesue turns her camera on her Japanese American grandfather, Tom Takesue. Tom, a recent widower and retired postal worker in his 90s who has lived in Honolulu for nearly a century, is a seemingly ordinary grandfather. In his daily habits, he cooks and eats, clips coupons, and watches television, but he surprisingly takes a passionate interest in his granddaughter Kimi’s screenplay. Over a multi-year shoot, he offers blunt critiques of Takesue’s story as well as provides suggestions for her title, songs, and even a happy ending. His past memories of life, love, and loss bleed through interviews and informal conversations with his granddaughter that span over six years. Perhaps, one of the film’s most touching moments is discovering how it got its title.

While nothing extraordinary happens in 95 AND 6 TO GO, its endearing and intimate quality makes it feel like “home.” Through the vehicle of “home video,” Takesue challenges the notion that history should be marked solely by big, loud, life-changing events but also by the quieter moments and humorous and bittersweet reflections of the people living that history. The film’s subject varies widely from Takesue’s notable Ugandan feature WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME? (2010), however, her signature contemplative approach as a filmmaker pervades as she plays with the complex relationship of the observer and the observed. There is no semblance of a fourth wall in 95 AND 6 TO GO as Takesue herself exists as a character both inside and outside of the film. This method along with slower pacing allows each moment to breathe and to be found carefully and thoughtfully rather than forcefully constructed. In 95 AND 6 TO GO, the viewer does not simply watch but is given intimate entry to the lives of the Takesues and to the production of history in the everyday. On a simpler note, the film is an inspiring reminder that leaves one wishing to connect with their own family’s elders.

— Sumiko Braun

Community Partners: Little Tokyo Historical Society, Little Tokyo Community Council

Director's Bio

Takesue is an award-winning filmmaker and recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in Film. Takesue’s films have screened extensively at festivals and museums abroad including: Sundance, New Directors/New Films, Locarno, Rotterdam, SXSW, and the Museum of Modern Art-NYC; and they have also aired on PBS, IFC, and the Sundance Channel. His acclaimed feature documentary, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME? was commissioned by Rotterdam and was a Critics’ Pick by Time Out-NYC and LA Weekly.