Aurora Foundation commemorates its 15th anniversary with the U.S. premiere of “A Chorus of Angels” (Kita no Kanariyatachi) on Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m. at the Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles.
Nominated for picture of the year at the 37th Japan Academy Awards, “A Chorus of Angels” is directed by Junji Sakamoto and based on a short story by “Confessions” author Kanae Minato. It was released by Toei in Japan on Nov. 3, 2012.
Sayuri Yoshinaga stars as Haru, a librarian on the outskirts of Tokyo who reminisces about her days as an elementary school teacher when she finds an old photo album. Twenty years earlier, she taught students on two remote islands off the coast of Hokkaido, but she moved away after a tragic accident.
When she hears that one of her former students has been involved in a crime, Haru travels north to see them again and discovers that they are still living in emotional pain because of regrets of the past.
The movie also stars Mirai Moriyama, Eiko Koike, Hikari Mitsushima, Ryo Katsuji, Ryuhei Matsuda, and Aoi Miyazaki .
Co-sponsored by the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.
Tickets are $15 at the door; $12 in advance; $10 for students, seniors, JACCC members and Aurora Club members. To buy tickets online (handling fee applicable), go to http://jaccc.org/aurora.php.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the JACCC office (second floor); Kinokuniya Bookstore in Little Tokyo, (213) 687-4480; Kinokuniya Bookstore in Costa Mesa, (714) 662-2319; and Sanuki no Sato in Gardena, (310) 324-9184.
Net proceeds will be donated to the Aurora Japanese Language Scholarship Foundation’s endowment fund. For more information, visit www.jlsf-aurora.org.