Cutie and the Boxer

Directed by Zachary Heinzerling (2013) 81 minutes

The Academy Award nominated Cutie and the Boxer is a moving account of the chaotic and unconventional 40-year love affair and creative partnership between action painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko, also an artist. Ushio, who punches canvases with paint-laden gloves, is famous in Japan and in Manhattan’s art circles, yet wider recognition has eluded him. Noriko, 21 years his junior, put her artistic ambitions on hold to be a wife and mother — and an assistant to her demanding husband. Now, Noriko’s acclaimed “Cutie” series of drawings, depicting the relationship between the title character and a volatile figure named Bullie, is turning their world upside down. Winner, Directing Award: U.S. Documentary, 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Ikigai Film Series

What keeps you going? How do you stay happy, and live a long life? These are some universal questions that will be explored in this film series that looks into the concept of IKIGAI. In Japanese, IKIGAI生き甲斐 essentially means “reason for being” or the thing that makes your life worthwhile, and we will catch a glimpse of how IKIGAI plays a role in the lives of remarkable Japanese people in these four documentaries.