The year is 1995, and you’ve submitted your film to the Sundance Film Festival, and they’ve said no. What do you do? Are you disappointed? Yes. Do you feel lost or defeated? Maybe. Do you give up? No. That is the origin story of the Slamdance Film Festival, which happens every year in Park City, Utah, at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival. Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn, Peter Baxter, and Paul Rachman created the Slamdance Festival to give independent filmmakers a voice.
Among the films showing at the 28th Annual Slamdance Film Festival is Reiki Tsuno’s “Mad Cats.” Written, directed, and produced by Tsuno, the film tells the story of Taka, a young man without direction, who is on a mission to find his brother. Along the way, he meets new friends and finds himself taking on a pack of vicious monster cats determined to execute shady pet shop owners.
The director’s statement for “Mad Cats” reads, “No more depressing movies from Japan.” Echoing that sentiment, Tsuno stated, “I had wondered why Japanese movies are so sad, serious, and depressing most of the time. I came to think that it’s the budget. Budgets for indie movies in Japan are actually much smaller than those overseas… it is very difficult to make something exciting and flashy because they simply cost a lot. I wanted to change that.” Based on the teaser trailer, which you can watch below, we are confident that he achieved his goal.
Studying film in Dublin and New York City, Tsuno started his career in the film industry as a crew member on short films, directing corporate promotional videos, music videos, and short movies.
Slamdance 2023 runs, in person, from January 20-26 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, and virtually from January 23-29, 2023. “Mad Cats” will have its world premiere at the festival Saturday, January 21, 2023, at 9:45 pm in the Treasure Mountain Inn, Ballroom. There will be a second film showing on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 3:15 pm at the Treasure Mountain Inn, Crescent. Check out the exclusive teaser trailer below.