"A story of love, destiny and...sushi."

Keiko, a New Zealand girl of Japanese birth, works in her father's restaurant. She dreams that she might be allowed to make sushi, but her father doesn't think she is capable. He only trusts Keiko to do the most menial jobs and every time that the boy she's in love with comes around, he ends up finding her in embarrassing situations. She decides to run away from home, leaving for her father, as proof of her ability, some magnificent sushi.

With Little Samurai we return to comedy, this time originating in New Zealand, to discover the multifaceted ways people's lives cross. An immigrant Japanese family must face the fact that they are only father and daughter. This time the conflict involves symbolic changes. The daughter must make her father understand how similar they are, rather than pointing out their differences. The girl, it's true, is in love with a New Zealander, but her dream is to be allowed to make sushi (the preparation of which has an almost religious value) in her father's restaurant. Running time 14 minutes.

(From the Giffoni Film Festival program)

CAST

Juri Inahara
Dean O'Gorman : Tony
Massa Sakamoto

CREW

Writer and director, Jesse Warn
Cinematographer, Aaron Morton
Editor, Steffan Coorey
Music, Darren Poole
Produced by Matthew Metcalfe
Production company, Method Films Ltd.

"A haunting, hallucinatory tale of love during wartime." After the death of his best friend, a young soldier returns to the deserted jetty where they used to play. Long-buried passions and haunting memories beckon in the form of a beguiling siren- the mythical creature reputed to lead sailors to their watery graves.

"A beautifully shot piece on the process of grief, this film deftly explores the conflicted emotions of a young soldier whose mysterious encounter with a siren allows him to come to terms with the loss of his best friend (and lover) in battle," said the Rochester Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Running time: 7 minutes.

(Compiled from Boulder, Chicago, Rochester, and New Zealand Film Festivals.)

CAST

Dean O'Gorman : Siren
Craig Hall : Soldier

CREW

Director : Charles Bracewell
Producer : Liz Stevens
Photography : Roland Carati
Art Director : Amanda Louise Barnes
Sound recordist : Andrew Ennever
Editor : John Gilbert
Sound Editor : Chris Burr

PRODUCTION COMPANY

Ample Films

Dean was part of the Art Department Crew on this independent short film.

"Sex, guns and the sins of the flesh... a diabolical double-cross. A husband full of hate has perfect plans for revenge on his bitter wife." For Kane Harris and Vera Smith, what starts as an easy task of murder becomes a tangled web of deception and betrayal. Their target, Kane's wife, is no easy victim. Running time: 17 minutes.

(From the Sci-Fi Network, the NZ Film Commission, and other sources.)

CAST

Danielle Cormack - Vera Smith
Marton Csokas - Kane Harris
Jennifer Ward-Lealand - Mrs. Harris

CREW

Writer and Director - Scott Reynolds
Producer - Jonathan Dowling
Music - Greg Johnson
Cinematography - Simon Raby
Film Editor - Wayne Cook
Set Designer -.Grant Major
Art Dept Asst - Dean O'Gorman

PRODUCTION COMPANY

Zee Films