Riko Narumi helps promote “Shodo Girls!!” at Cannes

By kevin on May 21, 2010 at 6:21pm EDT

Nippon Television Network went the extra mile to promote sales of Ryuichi Inomata’s calligraphy-based comedy Shodo Girls!! recently by orchestrating a publicity event at a beach in Cannes.

The film, which was released last week in Japan, stars Riko Narumi as a high school girl named Satoko who attempts to rejuvenate her sleepy, recession-devastated town in Ehime Prefecture by converting her school’s traditional calligraphy club over to the more entertaining “performance calligraphy”. It was recently screened at the Cannes market, which takes place yearly alongside the Cannes Film Festival, and is being shopped around by NTV along with two of their other offerings: “The Incite Mill: 7-Day Death Game” and the live-action adaptation of “Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You”.

Narumi and members of the Mishima High School calligraphy club put on a live performance at a beach near the festival for a crowd of onlooking tourists. YouTube star turned pop singer was also a special guest at the event. Wielding oversized calligraphy brushes, Narumi and company danced to pop music while carefully writing out the phrases “I LOVE CANNES Shodo Girls Sanjou (have arrived)!”, “Bunka no Kakehashi Neo Japonism (A bridge to new Japanese culture)”, and “Taisetsu na Mono / Shinrai Dekiru Kokoro kara no Tomodachi / Shinyuu (An Important thing / Friends you can count on from the bottom of your heart / Best friends)” on 4 x 6 meter sheets of paper.

Narumi said she felt a bit lonely without her co-stars with her, didn’t get to practice much, and had no time to look up to see the reaction of the crowd; but would be happy if she got even a few extra people to watch the movie. When asked if she’d like to return to Cannes someday to walk the red carpet she modestly replied, “If I’m lucky…”

Trailer

Source: Cinema Today