Big Dreams Little Tokyo is a feature length motion picture written and directed by David Boyle. The film premiered November 2, 2006 at the AFI Festival in Hollywood, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and is released on DVD through Echo Bridge on July 22, 2008.

History

The film was the feature debut of Boyle who conceived the idea while living in the Japantown

Japantown

is a common name for official Japanese communities in big cities outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo, or Nihonmachi , the first two being common names for the Japanese communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.-North America:Japantowns were...

 area of Sydney, Australia. Many of the characters in the film were based on people he met and interacted with while there. It was shot in the summer of 2005 in San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

 and San Francisco, California as well as Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. Big Dreams Little Tokyo was produced by Duane Andersen and Megan Boyle.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Boyd (played by Boyle), an American with an uncanny ability to speak Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

. Boyd aspires to succeed in the world of Japanese business but finds himself mostly on the outside looking in. Meanwhile, his roommate Jerome (Jayson Watabe), is a Japanese American

Japanese American

are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...

 who has always felt too American to be Japanese but too Japanese to be American. He aspires to be a sumo wrestler but finds his weight and blood pressure are thwarting his dreams. Together they struggle to find their place in a world where cultural identity is seldom what it seems.

Cast

! Actor >

>- | David Boyle

>- | Jayson Watabe

>- | Rachel Morihiro

>- | Drew Knight

>- | Pepe Serna Pepe Serna Pepe Serna is an American film actor and artist.Serna's first break in movies came in 1970 on the Roger Corman directed film Student Nurses. Over the years Serna has appeared in over 100 films, most notably Car Wash and Scarface directed by Brian De Palma, where he played Montana's friend Angel...

>- | Michael Yama

>- | James Kyson Lee

>- | Sonny Saito

>- | Bobby Suetsugu

>- | Naohiro Takita

Crew

! Name >

>- | David Boyle

Director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... >- | Duane Andersen

Producer Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The... >- | Meg Boyle

>- | Bill Otto Bill Otto Bill Otto is a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 9th district. He has been serving since 2005.Prior to his election to the House, Otto served on the Southern Coffey County Site Council , LeRoy City Council , Unified School District 245 Site Council , and...

Cinematographer Cinematographer A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image... >- | Erica Elmer

Production Designer Production designer In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the... >- | Mark Schulz

>- | Duane Andersen

Editor Editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete... >- | Scott M. Hurst