East Side Sushi (2014)

Single mom Juana can slice and dice anything with great speed and precision. After working at a fruit-vending cart for years, she decides to take a job at a local Japanese restaurant. ... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Lucero

Writer:

Anthony Lucero

Stars:

Diana Elizabeth Torres, Yutaka Takeuchi, Rodrigo Duarte Clark

11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diana Elizabeth Torres	...	Juana
Yutaka Takeuchi	...	Aki
Rodrigo Duarte Clark	...	Apa
Kaya Jade Aguirre	...	Lydia
Roji Oyama	...	Mr. Yoshida
Miyoko Sakatani	...	Mrs. Yoshida
Lane Nishikawa	...	Jimmy Nishida
Melissa Locsin	...	TV Show Coordinator
James J. Der Jr.	...	Kyung
Bartholomew Wang	...	Robert
Edwin Li	...	Billy
Jesus Fuentes	...	Victor
Kathleen Park	...	Waitress #1
Sara Matsui-Colby	...	Waitress #2
Tomoharu Nakamura	...	Hitoshi Watanabe

Storyline

Single mom Juana can slice and dice anything with great speed and precision. After working at a fruit-vending cart for years, she decides to take a job at a local Japanese restaurant. Intrigued by the food, she learns to make a multitude of sushi on her own. Eventually she attempts to become a sushi chef, but is unable to because she is the 'wrong' race and gender. Against all odds, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop her from achieving her dream.

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Plot Keywords:

single mother | sushi | japanese restaurant | sushi chef | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

Where East Oakland meets the Far East

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief violence, suggestive content and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

A sushi árnyékos oldalán

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Sun Pictures,Sparklight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min (original)

Color:

Color (Fujicolor) Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nominated for 8 DIOSA DE PLATA (Mexico's Oscars / Golden Globes equivalent) including: Best Movie - Anthony Lucero Best Director - Anthony Lucero Best Actress - Diana Elizabeth Torres Best Supporting Actor - Rodrigo Duarte Clark Best Child Actor - Kaya Jade Aguirre Best Editing - Anthony Lucero Best Screenplay - Anthony Lucero Diana Elizabeth Torres won her first Diosa for portraying Juana.

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Quotes

Aki: If I walked into a taqueria and I saw a bunch of *asians* cooking the food,
[Juana laughs]
Aki: I'd probably think twice.
Juana: Sure. Maybe. But, if that same taqueria had all latino workers and just one asian... one asian, would that be okay?

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Soundtracks

East Side Sushi Score
Composed and produced by Alex Mandel
Performed by Alex Mandel
Strings conducted by Minna Choi & performed by The Magik*Magik Orchestra
Percussion by David Brandt
Published by Vineland Records / Modern Works Publishing (ASCAP)
Record and mixed at 25th Street Recording - Oakland, CA

User Reviews

Best movie I've seen all year!

Love the uniqueness of the story... I mean how many non-male, non-Japanese sushi chefs do you see? I loved that the lead is a very strong female (Hispanic!) character (all too rare these days).

Wonderful acting, writing, editing, directing.

Beautiful sushi and watching it being made was fascinating.

This film brought tears to my eyes many times and I left the theater wanting a sushi dinner! Definitely the best movie I've seen all year... actually I've seen it twice and can't wait to see it again! Brought friends the second time I saw it who all felt the same :)

I can't wait to see this movie again.