Our Movies
Hard Fall (2009, Hong Kong)
Written, Directed & Produced by DAN CAREW
Indebted (2007, Japan)
Written, Directed & Produced by DAN CAREW
Movies We Have Worked On
Little Sister (2010, China/USA)
Associate Producer: DAN CAREW
Red Equipment and Logistics: KANDA RIVER PRODUCTIONS
Chief Digital Cinema Consultant: DAN CAREW
Hard Fall (2009)
Film Title: Hard Fall
Running time: 13 minutes, 25 seconds
Director: Dan Carew
Production Company: Kanda River Limited
Date Film Completed: 15 January 2009
Contact info: Dan Carew, +852-9099-1329; dan.carew@kandariver.com
Synopsis:
Against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, we watch three characters who all live in the same
apartment in Hong Kong: a banker husband, his beautiful wife and their hard working domestic helper. The
crisis drives one of them over the brink. And a cast of witnesses and neighbors is called upon to testify, to
solve the mysterious death.
Director’s Statement:
This idea for this film was hatched in September 2008--to try to depict the effects of the very real and severe
economic crisis on some ordinary people, in an entertaining way. A black comedy. Or a grey tragedy. Things
we had scripted, which seemed a bit extreme or Cassandra-like at the time (including our banker’s suicide)
have all come to pass. Capitalism is capricious. Yet even in these frugal and uncertain times, we all yearn for
good films--that capture the time, tell a yarn and make us sit forward in our seats.
Director Biography:
Dan Carew has worked as a life guard, high school teacher, chef, journalist, seaman, activist, technician,
software developer, business analyst, senior IT executive for adidas and now IT consultant. He has spent half
his life in Asia, including 14 years in Tokyo. He currently lives in Hong Kong with his wife and daughter. He
owns a Red camera and runs a small boutique digital cinema production company. This is his second film.
Festivals & Awards:
- Nominated for “Best Film Under 15 Minutes” Award at 2009 International Film Festival of South Africa (Nov 2009 in Kwa Zulu, South Africa)
- Nominated for “Best Short Film”, Filmmaker’s Festival (Nov 2009 in Kent, England)
- In competition at Levante International Film Festival (Nov 2009 in Bari, Italy)
- In competition at Fundacion Octaedro Presents The People’s Award International Short Film Festival (Jan 2010, Quito, Ecuador)
"Hard Fall" IMDB Home Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470606/
"Hard Fall" Credits:
Writer/Director/Producer: Dan CAREW
Co-Producer: Tiffany KOO
Director of Photography: Justin CHIN
The husband, Ian: Doug Kin-Tak CHAN
The wife, Veronica: Shell Z ZHU
The lover, Jonathan: Jonathan YOUNG
The maid, Maria: Jenneth NIZAL
50-year old nosy Chinese woman neighbor: Tim BOU
30-year old obnoxious woman neighbor: Sylvia LEUNG
5-year old boy neighbor: Justin Cheuk Yin WONG
Man with glasses neighbor: Lucas GRIEGO
Man without glasses neighbor: Dan CAREW
Three women witnesses: Tiffany KOO, Wing HO, Winnie WONG
Man with baseball cap witness: Samuel LAM
Sikh man witness: Mejor SINGH
2nd Unit Directors of Photography: Samuel LAM and Lucas GRIEGO
1st Camera Assistant: Samuel LAM
2nd Camera Assistant: Lucas GRIEGO
Gaffer & Grip: Lucas GRIEGO
Sound Recordist: Tiffany KOO
Art Directors: Lucas GRIEGO & Dan CAREW
Data "Wrangler": Max CHAN
Editor: Dan CAREW
Main Production Assistant: Winnie WONG
On-set Production Assistant: Wing HO
Special Assistant to Mr. Justin Wong: Valerie WONG
Sub-titles: Valerie WONG
Special thanks to:
Richard Bowen, A.S.C.
Indonesian all-women’s percussion band, Sufi Modern, led by Muamaroh
Justin Wong's kind parents
DiVino Wine Bar & Restaurant and Giacomo Pani
Infinite Machine (www.infinitemachine.com)
Digital Magic Limited (www.digitalmagic.com.hk)
Red Digital Cinema (www.red.com)
Kanda River Limited (www.kandariver.com)
Music:
"Hour Before Dawn," by Kila, (with permission of Kila)
from the album, "Luna Park"
www.kila.ie
"Cancion Triste," by Enrique Bunberry (festival rights pending)
from the album, "El Viaje a Ninguna, Parte 2"
www.enriquebunbury.com
Excerpt of "Hard Fall", from Levante International Film Festival (2009):
Indebted (2007)
Film Title: Indebted
Running time: 72 minutes
Director: Dan Carew
Production Company: Kanda River Limited
Date Film Completed: June 2007
Contact info: Dan Carew, +852-9099-1329; dan.carew@kandariver.com
Synopsis:
A 27-year old Japanese woman musician, Lina, borrows 200,000 yen from an ATM machine, to buy her dream
guitar. Six months later she owes ten times that amount and is in deep trouble with a semi-yakuza loan shark.
She calls her friends--led by the charismatic bi-cultural African-American, Drayton--for help. Starting on a
winter Friday night, all over Tokyo mishaps and adventures take place until the denouement Sunday morning.
Director’s Statement:
"Indebted" was my “sayonara love song” to Tokyo, a city in which I lived for 14 years. The film explores:
- People who live on the edge of the mainstream—multicultural people.
- The question of debt—and different reactions to it.
- The African-American Diaspora.
Director Biography:
Dan Carew has worked as a life guard, high school teacher, chef, journalist, seaman, activist, technician,
software developer, business analyst, senior IT executive for adidas and now IT consultant. He has spent half
his life in Asia, including 14 years in Tokyo. He currently lives in Hong Kong with his wife and daughter. He
owns a Red camera and runs a small boutique digital cinema production company. This was his first film.
"Indebted" IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1490706/
"Indebted" Credits:
Written, Directed and Producted by: Dan Carew／ダン カルー
Cameramen: Dan Carew／ダン カルー and Jun Nakanishi／中西 潤
Sound Engineer: Dan Carew／ダン カルー
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Dan Carew／ダン カルー
Editors: Dan Carew／ダン カルー and Tiffany Koo／古淑馨
First Assistant Director: Tiffany Koo／古淑馨
Second Assistant Directors: Junko Sugiyama ／杉山 and 純子Suhei
Technical Consultant: Ronski Henry／ロンスキー
Boom Mic Operators:
Tiffany Koo／古淑馨
Dan Carew／ダン カルー
Ronski Henry／ロンスキー
James Plastow／ジェームス プラストウ
Ryan Hart／ライアン ハート
Japanese sub-titles: Rie Ito
Cast in order of appearance（ 登場人物）
Drayton Freeman: Marcellus Nealy
レイトン・フリーマン：マルセラス・ニアリー
Woman in Bed: Akiko
裸の女：Akiko
Kuma: Karl (Takasuke Umino)
熊：カール (海野 隆右)
Hair Salon Owner: Mitsuhiro Yoko
美容院オーナ：横尾 光弘
Odaiba Marine House worker: 古淑馨／Tiffany Koo
お台場マリーンハウのススタッフ：
Scooter Shop owner: Akemi Yada
バイク店オーナ：矢田アケミ
Scooter Shop workers: Yuichi Iwasa, Takayuki Furujo
バイク店スタッフ：岩佐 優一、古城 隆之
Lina: Sakurako
リナ：櫻子
Main Bodyguard (Krasimir): Konstantin Prodanov
主なボディーガード（クラジミール）：コンスタンチン プロダノフ
Константин Проданов
Other Bodyguards: Dennis Cheng, James Plastow, Greg Tarver, Herschel Peppers
ボディーガード: デーニス チェング、ジャイムス プラスト、グレゴリー ターヴァー、ヘーシェル ペーッパス
Kurokawa: Mitsu Yoshikawa
黒川：吉川 光彦
Kurokawa’s Wife (Tatiana): Svetlana Fomina
タチアナ：スベトラナ フォミナ
Светлана Фом ина
Masseuse (Ai): Andy Lee
マッサージの女（アイ）：Andy Lee
Patron at Kuma’s Bar: Nori
熊の店の客さん：ノリ
Kumiko: Rie Ito
組子：伊藤 理恵
Drayton’s Friend (Bob): Ryan Hart
レイトンの友達（ボッブ）：ライアン ハート
Drayton’s Friend (Ochiai): Tetsu Sakata
レイトンの友達（落合）：坂田 哲彦
Izakaya owner: Mori-san
居酒屋オーナ：森さん
Kurokawa’s daughter (Aiko): Sayuri Fujimoto
黒川の娘（愛子）： 藤本 小百合
Club owner: Soe Sechang
クラブのオーナ：徐世昌（ｿ セチャン）
Aiko’s Friend/Dancer: Haruka Oseogawa
愛子の友達：小副川 晴香
Kurokawa’s date: Emiko Nakano
黒川のデート：中野 恵美子
Lina’s Band／リナのバンド:
Naoki Wada ／和田 直樹(guitar) (www.geocities.jp/naokinguitar)
Andy MacKinlay／キンレイ (bass, beat box) (www.eastpointproduction.com)
Grant Duncan／グラント ダンカン(guitar) (www.geocities.com/grantdncn/pavementcandywebsite.html)
Yuusuke (drums)
Special Thanks to:
Ponzi (Eel fax artist) (www.artistponzi.com)
ヘアコレクションミュゼ/Hair Collection Musee
Shirota Motors Nakano (www.shirota-motors.jp)
Sechang’s office
Karl and Little Tokyo bar
Mori-san and Daku Daku Izakaya
Matt, Stefan and Ruby Room (www.moderndining.com/RubyRoom)
Paul Gibson and The Fiddler (www.thefiddler.com)
Tracy Collins
Shinjuku Ward Office
City of Tokyo
Little Sister (2010)
From Toronto International Film Festival 2010 film entry profile page for "Little Sister"
Synopsis:
Based on one of the earliest versions of the beloved story of Cinderella comes a beautifully crafted film filled
with wonder and magic that reveals the Chinese origins of this widely known fairy tale.
Official Description:
Filled with beautiful cinematography and a wardrobe that befits a fairy tale, Little Sister is a gorgeous film
based on one of the earliest versions of the beloved story Cinderella. In this enchanting version drawn from
ancient scripts – which filmmaker Richard Bowen discovered in a Beijing museum – we are transported to a
time and place where boys are valued over girls.
For the most part, the story remains the same. An orphaned heroine at the mercy of a scheming stepmother
attends an important dance against the latter’s wishes. The heroine flees the action at midnight, leaving
behind a single shoe which impels a search undertaken by a handsome monarch for the matching foot. But
Little Sister also tells a mystical story of how the sun and moon stay frozen in protest of the inequality on
earth, and only our heroine can restore harmony to the natural world.
Set in a picturesque village in Southern China many centuries ago, Little Sister unfolds at a gentle pace, giving
the audience the opportunity to appreciate the film’s exquisite craftsmanship and the space to ponder the
questions it raises: Why was the heroine, Mei Mei, born a girl when the village shaman predicted she would be
born a special boy? Will she discover her purpose on earth as ordained by the heavens? Why must the region’s
monarch, a young king, work in tandem with Mei Mei to restore the heavens to their proper functioning? Can
the village learn to value girls as much as boys?
Featuring an excellent Chinese cast, including newcomer Xiao Min as Mei Mei, and wonderful narration by Asian
American actress Brenda Song, accomplished cinematographer Richard Bowen’s directorial debut is a striking
film filled with wonder and magic that reveals the Chinese origins of this famous fairy tale. Inspired by the two
Chinese daughters he and his wife adopted, Bowen has skillfully created a family-friendly film that celebrates
an important moral – that girls are as good as boys.
-Allen Braude
Credits:
Principle Cast: Xiao Min, Brenda Song, Yang Zhicheng Zhang Jie, Wang Caiping
Director: Richard Bowen
Producer: Richard Bowen, Tristan Whalley, Barbie Tung
Executive Producer: Stephen Jermyn, Guy Russo
Cinematographer: Wang Yu
Editor: Lisa Fruchtman, Lisa Cheek
Production Designer: Zhai Tao
International Sales Agent: Goalpost Film
Production Company: Louisa Productions
Director Bio:
Richard Bowen has worked extensively behind the camera, serving as cinematographer on the films Street
Music (81), Belizaire the Cajun (86), Stacking (87), The Wizard of Loneliness (88), Article 99 (92), Pure
Country (92), The Little Rascals (94), Major Payne (95), Fair Game (95), Head Above Water (96), A Smile Like
Yours (97), In Quiet Night (98). Little Sister (10) is his feature directorial debut.