Indie Films Aug 19 - Aug 25

KAMPAI! FOR THE LOVE OF SAKE AND EINSTEIN'S GOD MODEL OPEN EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS AT ARENA CINEMA HOLLYWOOD ON AUGUST 19

            Kampai! For the Love of Sake. Directed by Mirai Konishi. Produced by Konishi and Chiaki Yanagimoto. From Sundance Selects. (Color, 2016, USA/ Japan, 95 minutes, not rated) Documentary. Featuring Chizuru Doi, Cat Ford-Coates, Mitch Fortune, Ken Furukawa, John Gauntner, Philip Harper. Japanese cuisine is now one of the most popular cuisines all over the globe. However, there is one essential component that is often missing at the tables of international Japanese eateries SAKE. Sake, often called Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice and has a wide range of variety..A British sake brewer, an American journalist, and a young president of a century­-old sake brewery in Japan join together to explore the mysterious world of sake, or Japanese rice wine. The film illustrates how these unique individuals who have been fascinated with this extraordinary beverage of Japanese origin meet the challenges of the current sake industry, investigating the rich, complex, and spectacular world of sake.

            Einstein's God Model. Written and directed by Philip T. Johnson. Produced by Johnson, Kenneth Hughes and Craig Dow. From Indie Rights.(Color, 2016, USA, 89 minutes, not rated) Sci-Fi/ Thriller. Starring Aaron Graham, Kirby O'Connell, Keeneth Hughes, Brad Norman, Darryl Warren, Karol Kent. For thousands of years, only religion has offered an answer to what happens after death. Science is about to change that. With the help of a physicist, a blind medium, and Thomas Edison's final experiment, Brayden Taylor embarks on a quest to contact the afterlife. For his love to transcend dimensions, he must defy the laws of quantum physics. He must defy the balance nature demands. He must defy ... the God Model.

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LOS ANGELES (August, 2016): Winner Best Picture 2016 Comicon & Best Science Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, this independent feature film uses the science of Quantum Physics and String Theory to take us on a clandestine adventure beyond the known universe. Director Philip T. Johnson uses love as the ultimate connection, compelling his main character, Brayden, to fearlessly trust a shadowy physicist and a blind psychic drunk who launch him into other dimensions in search of his fiancee. Heralded as the "American Doctor Who", this underground sci-fi independent film is the first in a series of quantum journeys.

Einstein's God Model challenges all concepts of time, space, and even death. M.I.T.professors and physics PhD's have celebrated a new voice in independent S.T.E.A.M.-based filmmaking. Mr. Johnson, the Director of Einstein's God Model, states "EGM is a mashup of classic Technicolor science fiction and modern theoretical physics. We really wanted everything to have this cool pulp scifi flavor - the story, the characters, the visual effects, and even the music were designed as a nod to that cinematic period."

Geeks & nerds are discovering a new breed of independent sci-fi filmmakers who, without studio support, are creating original stories that kick fiction's butt with a blast of science! Producer Kenneth Hughes is a voice for independent filmmaking on the festival scene, and has brought in a deep bench of Hollywood talent to create a powerful post-production team. The film's amazing score was composed by Senon Williams of the immensely popular band "Dengue Fever" - a darling of public radio. Erik Tillmans of Dreamworks supervised the film's groundbreaking visual effects. Naaman Haynes supervised the creation of the film's other worldly soundscape and mixed the film's sound at the legendary Technicolor sound studios on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. Producer Craig Dow of Imageworks Chicago, has over 20 years of production experience, working

with such artists as Gary Sinise, Jane Seymour, Kristin Chenoweth, and recently wrapped production on "Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk" directed by Eric Stoltz. Much of the cast comes from the Chicago acting community (e.g. Second City Theater), including Brad Norman (Craig Leeham) and Darryl Warren (Dr. Carl Meiselhoff). The film also enjoyed The Discovery Channel's, Mike Turano as the Director of Photography

Other facts: The production had physics professor Daniel Record (a veteran of the Apollo Moon program and Presidential Awardee) consulting. Dr. William Rosenblatt of Yale University, contributed as the medical consultant. Using the visual effects as a character, the filmmakers went to great lengths to blur the line between science and fiction, perhaps even ... erase it? "Einstein's God Model lives within a special niche of science fiction movies that not only aren't made by big Hollywood studios, but probably shouldn't be." - Ziggy (Cinema on the Rocks)

"There is an integrity to the view the film takes, and one that the film, in its own way, displays with visual panache and extraordinary heart." - AJ Frost (Jewish News)