To Be Takei

DIRECTOR: Jennifer M. Kroot   COUNTRY: United States   YEAR: 2014   LANGUAGE(S): English   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 90 min  

SECTION: InternationalForum 2015

SYNOPSIS

As the helmsman of Starship Enterprise, George Takei, aka Hikaru Sulu, boldly went where no man had gone before. The actor is also a pioneer in real life, campaigning with wit and charm for civil rights. This very entertaining film accompanies him and his husband Brad as they prepare their next project – a musical about US internment camps!

His role in STAR TREK propelled Takei to stardom at the end of the 1960s. Later, he played clichéd roles but used his fame and popularity to change the world. He talked indefatigably about the internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WW II in which he had to spend his early childhood. In 2005, he came out at the age of 68 and has since become a champion of LGBTI rights. At well over 70, he has become an internet phenomenon with over five million Facebook fans. In Jennifer Kroot’s film, we get to know his private side as well – his inexhaustive optimism, his warm-heartedness and his humor guarantee a very entertaining time at the cinema.

JENNIFER M. KROOT
Jennifer M. Kroot is a Bay Area native and studied film at The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), where she now teaches film. She has been a guest lecturer at Stanford and Denver University. Kroot directed the documentary feature IT CAME FROM KUCHAR about the legendary underground filmmaking twins George and Mike Kuchar, which premiered at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the Chicago Underground Film Festival and Boston Underground Film Festival.

Jennifer also wrote, directed and starred in the gender bending, sci-fi, narrative feature SIRENS OF THE 23RD CENTURY. She has received grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation, Creative Work Fund, Frameline, the Pacific Pioneer Fund, California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Fleishhacker Foundation.

FILMOGRAPHY
Sirens of the 23rd Century (2003), It Came from Kuchar (2009),
To Be Takei (2014)

PRODUCERS: Gerry Kim, Mayuran Tiruchelvam   CAMERA: Chris Million   EDITOR: Bill Weber   MUSIC: Michael Hearst  

PRODUCTION: Dodgeville Films, Rainbow Shooting Star Pictures   WORLD SALES: Submarine Entertainment  

WEBSITE
http://www.tobetakei.com/