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After a successful launch of Moon Media’s first feature film, "<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/moon-media-launch">Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas</a>", comes its second story, "<a href="https://www.kinmi.mooncreativelab.com/">KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake</a>." Different from "Kamiyama," which focused on the revitalization of an aging town, "KINMI" puts the traditional Japanese industry of sake brewing in the limelight and highlights how the brand is bringing new brewing methods to an industry that hasn’t changed much over the years. Stories like these are often tucked within Japan, but Moon Media knows that these stories could both inform and inspire people on a global scale. &nbsp;The Kamiyama and KINMI films both aspire to tell compelling stories of people and places that meet at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship within Japan. There’s no better person to tell us more about Moon Media’s second film than the executive producer and Moon’s Chief Creative Officer, Mike Peng.&nbsp;<hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_3_ce607b8ae6.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_3.jpg"></figure>How did you identify the story of KINMI sake? What made you decide that this story, in particular, should be shared on a global scale?&nbsp;Mike Peng: I met Nao Kohara when I first moved to Tokyo in 2011. He was still working at a venture capital firm then and I remember talking to him about his love for sake. It was only a few years later when I learned that he had left his job to start a new sake brand! In fact, I remember I used to go to the Farmer’s Market over the weekend to visit his booth.I knew that one day, I wanted to tell the story of Nao and KINMI. First of all, for someone like Nao — an incredibly successful Japanese business person who graduated from Tokyo University and Stanford Business School — to quit his job and pursue his passion was incredibly rare, especially in Japan. Not to mention, creating a new sake brand in an industry that’s steeped in traditions must have been really tough.How did he do it? Why did he do it? How was KINMI going to be different? What was he trying to achieve?I felt that trying to uncover the answer to these questions could inspire many people around the world looking to start something new.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_1_d597ccdf1c.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_1.jpg"></figure>What did you learn while making this film?&nbsp;While filming "KINMI," I was really struck by how deep the relationships were between Nao, the sake breweries, the brew masters, the rice farmers, the local fisheries, the restaurants, and everyone else within the ecosystem. There was a sense of shared purpose and camaraderie — we all care so much about what we do and we want to create the best product or experience that we can. That pride in the craft is something that I feel is harder and harder to find these days in business, and it was so palpable while making this film.&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there a particular moment or idea that resonated with you when filming "KINMI"? I’m sure you have great behind-the-scenes stories too!&nbsp;I don’t know if it’s one singular moment, but throughout the filming, I kept thinking to myself, “Wow, everything needs to be so precise!” To make unpasteurized or unfiltered sake is no small task. Everything needs to be done at the right “fill in the blank” — the right temperature, the right humidity, the right timing, etc. And if it’s not, the sake will not live up to its full potential. As with many behind-the-scenes videos, your appreciation and understanding for the craft definitely elevates all aspects of the final product.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_copy_05e93730c9.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_copy.jpg"></figure>If you could have a conversation with someone who watches the film for the very first time, what would you want to discuss with them?Even though Moon Media has only created two films so far, I’m already starting to see some common themes that really excite and interest me. In both the Kamiyama and KINMI films, I feel that there’s another way to do business — it doesn’t have to be just for money and it doesn’t have to just be “do good” charity work. There exists a “third way” where there’s harmony in profit and purpose, leadership and community, business and creativity, humanity and nature. Although I’m sure this exists all around the world, I find that there’s a higher percentage of this happening in Japan. I’m hoping that these stories can not only inspire the rest of the world, but also spark a conversation on how we might do this in our own parts of the world.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_f1ad038571.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake.jpg"></figure>What action do you want the audience to take after watching "KINMI"?&nbsp;From an organizational perspective, I hope that people and businesses will really think deeply about what their purpose is in the world (beyond making money) and how they can collaborate more with other parties who share that same purpose.From a personal perspective, I know that entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, but I hope that everyone spends at least some time in their life thinking about what new value they can create in the world that is purposeful and brings joy to their life.&nbsp;<blockquote>"I hope that everyone spends at least some time in their life thinking about what new value they can create in the world that is purposeful and brings joy to their life."</blockquote>What’s next for Moon Media? Do you have any updates about "Kamiyama"? Is there another film in the works?&nbsp;I’m excited to share that we submitted "<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/moon-media-launch">Kamiyama</a>" to several film festivals and it was the Official Selection to many of them including: <a href="https://hollywoodshortsfest.com/">The Hollywood Shortsfest</a>, the <a href="the San Jose International Film Festival">San Jose International Film Festival</a>, <a href="https://docswithoutbordersfilmfest.com/">Documentary Without Borders</a>, and the <a href="http://sfshorts.com/">San Francisco Short Film Festival</a>!We have several ideas for future films and are beginning the planning process for them. As of now, we’ve focused a lot on the intersection of business x creativity x Japan, but we also want to add “sustainability” to that intersection and have a few stories that we think will be incredibly inspiring!&nbsp;---We hope that our second Moon Media film, "KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake," inspires you as much as it did the Moon team. Continue to share the gift of storytelling and inspiration within Japan with your friends and family, too. We hope you all enjoy it! <a href="https://www.kinmi.mooncreativelab.com/">Watch "KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake" here.&nbsp;</a> &nbsp; *Editor’s note:&nbsp; One of the regions featured in "KINMI" is Noto, a small coastal town located on a peninsula projecting north into the Sea of Japan. At the heart of Noto lies its well-known fisheries and fishing villages, which are so significant that Nao partnered with the region’s oldest fish market to create a box set including KINMI’s Noto sake. The film credits Japan’s unique regions for “creating” its own sake, with food and environment contributing to the sake’s flavor. Noto is a perfect example of that as the community’s livelihood, culture, and most integral product is weaved into its distinctive sake.Sadly, the Noto Peninsula has been heavily impacted by the multiple earthquakes that occurred in early January. It is one of the worst affected areas and much of it has been destroyed. To show your support for the Noto communities, please consider donating to the <a href="https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/donate/">Japanese Red Cross Society</a> or <a href="https://www-pref-ishikawa-lg-jp.translate.goog/suitou/gienkinr0601.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&amp;_x_tr_tl=en&amp;_x_tr_hl=ja">Ishikawa Prefecture’s official website</a> to help with relief efforts. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<hr>Moon Media is a division of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/">Moon Creative Lab Inc</a>., a venture studio that powers the creation of new businesses for Mitsui &amp; Co., Ltd. and beyond. Moon Media was created to help showcase inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity x entrepreneurship within Japan. We know that many of these inspiring stories exist throughout Japan, but they are often difficult to find and hard to access. Our goal is to uncover these hidden gems so that we all can nourish our creative souls and begin turning inspiration into innovation.

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Moon Media launched in the summer of 2022 with a vision to tell inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship within Japan. With the release of Moon Media’s first film, <a href="https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/">“Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas”</a> coming this month, we talked to Moon Creative Lab’s Chief Creative Officer, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/mike-peng">Mike Peng</a>, to learn more about the vision of Moon Media and what’s to come.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/783114702"></oembed></figure><hr>If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting Mike and chatting with him for even just a few minutes, you know how much of a storyteller he is at heart. Ask him about where he’s traveled or the people he’s met along the way and you’ll see Mike light up with infectious enthusiasm, painting detailed memories so vividly, it’s as if you were there experiencing it all with him. It makes sense that Mike would be spearheading an entire division for Moon around storytelling through films.&nbsp;&nbsp;Congratulations on launching the first feature film for Moon Media! Where did the inspiration to start this division of Moon Creative Lab come from?&nbsp;Mike Peng: We have two main goals at Moon: 1) Help build and launch successful ventures for Mitsui &amp; Co., and 2) Help transform its workforce. The telling of stories has played a critical role in our ability to achieve both.&nbsp;In chatting with <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/kaichi-yokoyama">Kaichi Yokoyama</a>, Moon’s CEO, and <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/mary-ann-gallo">Mary Ann Gallo</a>, Moon’s CMO, I had expressed the desire to tell more evocative stories of creativity and entrepreneurship for Japan. My feeling was that if we can share more examples of how others are doing it (in a beautiful and compelling way), we would all get more inspired. And the more inspired we become, the better ability we have to help build and launch successful ventures and help transform the people we’re working with.&nbsp;But it wouldn’t have to stop there. We also felt that if successful, these stories could transcend beyond Mitsui and help inspire an even larger audience domestically and abroad. Thus, we set up Moon Media to explore this potential.&nbsp;&nbsp;How did you come to identify the story in Kamiyama as the first Moon Media story?&nbsp;I had noticed that a few of my close friends from Japan were visiting Kamiyama and posting amazing stories and images of the town. The name of the town was new to me, so I messaged all of them asking about their experience there. Each one of them told me how inspired they were by what the town was trying to achieve — using a creative and entrepreneurial mindset to tackle the growing issue of an aging population. I felt that this was a story that needed to be told and shared. So many countries, cities, and towns are all facing the same challenge. Could the story of Kamiyama help jumpstart the conversation and provide all of us new ideas on what we might be able to do? This made Kamiyama a perfect subject for the first Moon Media story.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_Kamiyama_Film_8e3c0ce59d.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-Kamiyama-Film">What type of stories are you looking to showcase on Moon Media going forward?&nbsp;For me, Moon Media stories should highlight people and places that sit at the intersection of entrepreneurship and creativity and Japan — the same intersection that makes up Moon Creative Lab.&nbsp;For entrepreneurship: Did the subject launch something from zero? Did they apply an entrepreneurial mindset to whatever it is they are creating? Was the chance of risk or failure high? Are there a lot of learnings to be shared along the journey?&nbsp;About creativity: Did the subject apply “out-of-the-box” thinking to create something new? Is the concept novel and innovative to the context at hand? Were the subjects inspired by something, somewhere, or someone that led them to this new concept?&nbsp;On Japan: Does the subject matter resonate with people in Japan? Are there elements of the story that reflect the values of Japanese culture (beyond stereotypes)? Does the subject offer ideas, perspectives, or philosophies that can help push Japan forward?&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_Kamiyama_Mike_Peng_2bae65a2fb.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-Kamiyama-Mike-Peng"><figcaption>CCO Mike Peng behind-the-scenes for the film Kamiyama</figcaption></figure>What all went into the making of this film? What does it take to create a captivating story?Like all great non-fiction storytelling, the goal is to achieve true authenticity. This means trying to capture the essence of what we saw, what we heard, and what we felt into an edited package of sound and visuals. You can imagine the hours of footage that we took during these multi-day shoots! How do you slim that down into a 10-15 minute film and still have it tell a clear and compelling story? That is where I suppose the magic really happens. Thankfully, we have an amazing film and editing crew that oozes magic from their pores!&nbsp;For our inaugural film on Kamiyama, we filmed for six days, had nearly 10 hours of footage, and spent approximately 82 hours of editing to get the film to the final length of 14 minutes.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Kamiyama_Moon_Media_3be43baca6.jpeg" alt="Kamiyama-Moon-Media">How would you like to see storytelling evolve?&nbsp;As a designer, I’ve been trained to create and appreciate beautiful things, so I want to make sure each one of our films is beautiful in its own way. But for me, beauty is only one facet of storytelling that we want to achieve for Moon Media. My hope is for these films to be thought-provoking and elicit conversation. I don’t want people to just copy what’s been done by the subjects of the film, but I hope that it does provide inspiration and ideas for people to do&nbsp;something.&nbsp;I’ve even been thinking about creating a set of reflection questions as part of each film to help get the conversation started and get us all thinking in a more action-inducing way. Stay tuned!&nbsp; <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Filming_Kamiyama_Moon_Media_e049abcd66.jpeg" alt="Filming-Kamiyama-Moon-Media">What can we look forward to in the coming months?&nbsp;Like with all “firsts,” there is so much pressure in getting it “perfect,” whatever that means! However, in the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship, we tried to not overthink with this first film and to just “do.” In the coming months, we’re going to try and get as many people to watch our film and collect any thoughts and feedback people might have on the film (so please&nbsp;do send me any thoughts if you have them: moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com)!We are currently filming the second film (I’m so excited to share it with you all!) and will be heading into post-production in April. Our hope is to launch this next film some time in early May 2023, so be on the lookout!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_team_bdd126e785.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-team"><figcaption>Clockwise from Left to Right: Kaichi Yokoyama (Executive Producer), Masataka Namazu (Photography), Ted Ko (Co-Producer), Mike Peng (Executive Producer), Marco Lui (Director &amp; Writer), Kohei Watanabe (Director, Filming, Editing, Music), Akari Yagura (Filming)</figcaption></figure>Watch the full length film at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/">https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/</a> and subscribe to our newsletter for updates regarding upcoming films from Moon Media!If you would like to get in touch with Mike and the Moon Media team directly, please contact: <a href="mailto:moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com">moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com</a><hr>Moon Media is a division of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/">Moon Creative Lab Inc</a>., a venture studio that powers the creation of new businesses for Mitsui &amp; Co., Ltd. and beyond. Moon Media was created to help showcase inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity x entrepreneurship within Japan. We know that many of these inspiring stories exist throughout Japan, but they are often difficult to find and hard to access. Our goal is to uncover these hidden gems so that we all can nourish our creative souls and begin turning inspiration into innovation.

Moon Media Launches Second Feature Film: KINMI Sake

Moon Media Launches Short Film "Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas"

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