CHARON - Profile of Staff Members

CREDITS

Produced by GRAND CAFE PICTURES
Producers	Paul Cheng
	Gen Takahashi
	Jun Kawamoto
Director and writer	Gen Takahashi
Camera	Masahide Iioka
Lighting	Mitsuru Ogawa
Sound	Shimpei Kikuchi
Artwork	Etsuko Yoshida
Makeup	Nana Kosakai
Assistant Director	Masashige Nakanishi
Starring	Megumi Morisaki Jun Kawamoto Ryushi Mizukami
Support	Eastman Kodak Company
Distributor	Golden Network Ltd. (Hong Kong)
	Asia ex-Japan and worldwide
	(Opening in Japan December 2004)
Produced in 35mm color with Dolby stereo 1 hour 30 minutes (estimated)

Profile of Staff Members

Paul CHENG - Executive Producer

Paul Cheng was born in Hong Kong in 1958. After studies in film as an exchange student at the Japan Institute of Electronics, Paul was in charge of production of numerous films in Hong Kong, principally with Golden Harvest.

Renowned for his collaborative production efforts between Hong Kong and Japan, Paul has produced such movies as Kujakuo, Teito Taisen, Nanjing no Kirisuto, Hong Kong Daiyo Sokai, Kitchen, Fuyajo, Moonlight Express and Spy-N. He has teamed up with Gen Takahashi before, on the TV Asahi drama See you in Kowloon. In 2000 Paul moved his base of operations to Shanghai, where he produces dramas for China Central Television and creates films and other entertainment for the Asian international market, backed by the enormous funding available in China. Paul is Executive Producer with Grand Cafe Pictures.

Gen TAKAHASHI - Director and writer
Born in Tokyo in 1965, Gen Takahashi entered the world of film with a stint at Toei's Tokyo studio. An independent by nature, Gen is today one of the most prominent filmmakers in the Asian film world. His 1992 theatrical and film directorial debut, Shinzo-nuki, soon achieved enduring popularity as a cult favorite. He has been studying the international film industry since 1997, focusing on Hong Kong while expanding his network of contacts among film industry people in each country. Other theatrical and film works by Gen include Arashi no Kisetsu, Toppamono Taiyoden, Lady Plastic and Gin no Otoko. Gen moved his operations completely out of Japan beginning in 2002, and has produced three works since then: the documentary Disciples of Shaolin Temple; the love story My wife and the gun, an original production filmed in collaboration with the city of Shanghai; and Nenpa, a horror triptych that tells the tale of a person with supernatural powers in early 20th-century Japan. He also adapted the hero of a 1970s hit in Japan to an international audience, in the film Rainbow Man. Gen frequently worked on several of these films at once.

Charon marks a departure for Gen Takahashi. It is a wholly new production aimed at an international film audience and the first film from Grand Cafe Pictures.

Grand Cafe Pictures

A group of active players in the film industry, including producers, directors, screenwriters and actors, assembled this film production team in 2003. Led by Paul Cheng, a leading producer in the Chinese film industry with a network of ties to the Asian and international film market, along with prominent Japanese personalities such as director Gen Takahashi, Grand Cafe Pictures is committed to the production of excellent motion pictures for the world market.

Charon is Grand Cafe Pictures' maiden production. Other projects are already in the works for international distribution. The company is also creating Disciples of Shaolin Temple, the first and only officially approved documentary on the legendary Shaolin Temple in China's Henan Province, made possible by unprecedented cooperation from the Temple itself. This groundbreaking film is due for release in Japan in February 2004. As these projects attest, Grand Cafe Pictures already boasts a solid repertoire of compelling content.

E-mail : contact@grandcafepictures.com
Web : www.grandcafepictures.com