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JUNE BRIDE: REDEMPTION OF A YAKUZA

It took a missing finger to find God. JUNE BRIDE: REDEMPTION OF A YAKUZA is a feature-length documentary about Tatsuya Shindo, a former mobster turned preacher, who seeks forgiveness for a life’s worth of disappointment and crime in his makeshift church – June Bride – at one time a smoke-filled bar. Hanging on Shindo’s every word is his loyal congregation, an eclectic mix of tattooed ex-convicts and wayward souls who want to start over. Through his journey from the criminal underworld to a mission from God, Shindo declares, “Loyalty to my yakuza boss is the same as the one to God.” But will his faith cost him more than just his finger?

DRAIN

A chance encounter leads to a beautiful, fleeting relationship between two vastly different types: One person is a plumber, and the other is most definitely not.

FISH GRENADE REEL

CURL

A short documentary detailing a bizarre, fascinating and oftentimes dangerous= rite of passage ritual for a young boy. He will enter the arena as a child, but will he emerge as a man? Will he even survive? Or more importantly, will he look good?

THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE

THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE examines the heated debate over the true origin of the fortune cookie, the mixing of Eastern and Western cultures that produced it, and the cookie’s rise from a simple pastry to a pop culture phenomenon

AUTONOMOUS SOUL

A statement of an unlikely hero who, with muted voice, defies commonality. Difficult to categorize, the film is part art,part experimental, part comedy, but all heart.

FISH GRENADE

A production squad committed to creating projects from a very unique and slightly off-kilter point of view.

DEREK SHIMODA

Producer/Director

Derek produced the feature film IN MY LIFE as well as the acclaimed documentary SECRET ASIAN MAN, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. He wrote, produced and directed the film AUTONOMOUS SOUL, winner of a Visionaly Award at the Pan African Film Festival. His debut feature-length documentary THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE was a Best Documentary winner at the Sapporo Asian Film Festival of Dallas. He followed up with JUNE BRIDE: REDEMPTION OF A YAKUZA, a feature documentary about Tatsuya Shindo, a high-ranking Japanese ex-mobster-turned-preacher who ministers an eclectic mix of tattooed ex-convicts and wayward souls from his makeshift church – June Bride – at one time a smoke-filled bar.

VICTOR HO

Producer/Writer

Victor is a producer/writer based in Los Angeles and Atlanta. He has written screenplays for independent production companies and several films including, BLUE MONSTER (with Fish Grenade) and LATE FOR A DATE. You can often find him playing video games past midnight and eating grape fruit rolls.

MARK TASAKA

Producer/Writer

Mark graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a Critical Studies degree. During his time at the school, Mark met his frequent collaborator Derek Shimoda and they’ve been working together ever since. Mark has worked on a variety of documentaries, films, and television shows since graduating. A veteran of the television industry for over a decade, Mark is currently working as a supervising producer on a hit reality show.