David Greenspan
(USA, 2001), 12 min., 16 mm, b/w
Uchida Taro
Mihara O-Yoshi
Mr. Obe
Taro's Mother
Taguchi
Director
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Editor and sound editor
Composer
Producers
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Ryuichi Miyakawa
Sayaka Hatano
Chikara Inoue
Naoko Daigo
Takuya Matsuda
David Greenspan
David Greenspan, Noriko Kimura, Chris Zeller
Bryan Donnell
David Greenspan
Wataru Hokoyama
David Greenspan, Noriko Kimura, Trac Vu
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Awards and festivals
Palme d'Or for Best Short Film, Cannes International Film Festival, 2001
Best Student Short, Nashville Independent Film Festival, 2001
OMU prize for Promoting Cross Cultural Understanding, Sehsuechte International Student Festival, Potsdam, 2001
National Finalist, Student Academy Awards, 2001
Competition short, Slamdance Film Festival (Park City, Utah) 2001
College Emmy, 2nd Prize Drama, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 2001
IFP/West Los Angeles Film Festival, Official Selection, 2001
Rochester International Short Film Festival, 2001
Chicago Asian American Film Festival, 2001
Houston Worldfest, Official Selection, 2001
Method Fest (Pasadena), 2001
Palm Springs International Short Film Fest (2nd Place, Student Category)
Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival
American Short Shorts Film Festival (Japan)
One Reel Short Film Festival (Seattle, Washington)
Maui International Short Film Festival
Athens International Film Festival
Sendai Short Film Festival (Sendai, Japan)
Asiatica Filmmediale (Rome, Italy)
Calgary International Film Festival
Oldenburg Film Festival (Germany)
D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival (Washington, D.C.)
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
Ozu Memorial Film Festival (Nagano, Japan)
St. Louis International Film Festival
London International Film Festival
Rio De Janeiro International Short Film Festival
FIKE Film Festival (Portugal)
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Synopsis
"What do you like more than anything in the world?" This is the question a teacher asks 9-year-old Taro on his first day of school. Taro is swift to respond: "Bean cake!" Wrong answer. It is 1933 in Tokyo, and the stern teacher tells Taro he will be punished until he holds the Emperor in higher regard than his favorite snack. Taro's refusal to budge from his original response leads to an ultimatum - change his answer or face expulsion - but it also prompts an unexpected friendship with a young girl, O-Yoshi. Bean Cake is based on a Japanese folktale, The Red Bridal, which was originally introduced to the West by Lafcadio Hearn.
Born and raised in NYC, David spent a year at Stanford's Kyoto Center, where he made his first video as a part of the Kyoto University Film Society. He recently graduated from the graduate film school at the University of Southern California.
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