Mori, The Artist’s Habitat

Feature Slate | Centerpiece Presentation

North American Premiere

SOLD OUT: A waitlist will begin at the Box Office one hour prior to the screening. Being on the waitlist does not guarantee admission.

Intro and Q&A with star Kirin Kiki, with CUT ABOVE Award ceremony, followed by the CENTERPIECE PRESENTATION PARTY with live music by jazz duo KAI (shakuhachi player Zac Zinger and guitarist Shu Odamura)

In the last 30 years of of his long life, reclusive artist Morikazu Kumagai (1880-1977), aka Mori, almost never left his Ikebukuro home. Instead, he took pleasure in a daily routine of observing the cats, fish, birds and insects living in his luxuriant garden for hours, eventually rendering them into his distinct paintings. Featuring a colorful cast headlined by screen legends Tsutomu Yamazaki (Tampopo) and Kirin Kiki (Still Walking), this delightful, offbeat comedy directed by Shuichi Okita (Mohican Comes Home) imagines a day in the life of Mori and Hideko, his wife of over 50 years, as they entertain a throng of welcome and unwelcome visitors, including a pair of condo developers whose encroaching presence signals the end of an era.

2018. 99 min. DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Shuichi Okita. With Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kirin Kiki, Ryo Kase, Ken Mitsuishi.