The Vancouver Asahi will be stepping up to the plate at the 33rd Vancouver International Film Festival this year.
The film, directed by Ishii Yuya and starring Tsumabuki Satoshi, tells the true story of the legendary Japanese Canadian baseball team, The Vancouver Asahi.
In the early 20th century, Japanese workers immigrated to Canada in search of a new life, but faced the hard realities of racial discrimination, poverty, and severe physical labor.
Under these tough conditions, The Vancouver Asahi was born and was made up of players from Japan Town. When they started to play, they forgot about the racial, religious, and political struggles; baseball was all that mattered. The team was a ray of sunshine for Japanese Canadians.
Though they were at mercy of the times, the team enchanted fans both Japanese and Caucasian and the film’s director wanted to capture this feeling of acceptance.
Yuya Ishii, who is known for The Great Passage, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards worked alongside Satoshi Tsumabuki, his leading actor. Kazuya Kamenashi and Mitsuki Takahata also play supporting roles.
It’ll be a film to remember and it will be released in Japan on December 20th, but will make its big premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Be sure to check out the link for show times.