The Chef & The Daruma
Seattle loves its sushi, but did you know the cuisine’s North American popularity is thanks to a man named Hidekazu Tojo? Learn the story of the chef who changed the world after moving from Japan to Vancouver in the 1970s, staying true to his traditions despite all odds.
Director Mads Baekkevold, producer Matthew Dix, and subject Chef Hidekazu Tojo scheduled to attend.
Lovers of Japanese food and baked goods won't want to miss our trivia giveaway of gift cards to Saint Bread and The Wayland Mill at the May 25 screening!
Sponsored by:
Every city has their hometown hero, and Vancouver’s may just be Hidekazu Tojo. For more than 36 years, he and his sushi bar have been a fixture of the BC food scene and pioneers in bringing Japanese cuisine to the mainstream. In this high-energy documentary, first-time filmmaker Mads K. Baekkevold traces Tojo’s journey from Japan to Canada to Japan again as he climbed from the bottom of the restaurant food chain up to rubbing shoulders with celebrities. More striking than his determination and success is our subject’s endearing kindness and charm. Though Chef Tojo may have invented the California Roll, his is less a story of assimilation to Western tastes than a portrait of a man finding and creating community in a new country out of his infectious and unlimited joy for food. Certain to make your mouth water and your heart soar, The Chef & The Daruma is essential Pacific Northwest viewing that sold out the Vancouver Film Festival over and over. Don’t miss its Seattle stop!
—Hannah Baek
- Director: Mads K. Baekkevold
- Principal Cast: Hidekazu Tojo, Alyssa Hirose, Lorene Oikawa, Nick Sakagami, Michael Ouchi
- Premiere Status: US
- Country: Canada, Japan
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 90 min.
- Producer: Matt Lawrence Dix, Luis Guerra
- Screenplay: Natalie Murao
- Cinematographers: Kaayla Whachell
- Editors: Anna Chiyeko Shannon
- Music: Masahiro Takahashi
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Victoria Film Festival 2025 (Best Canadian First Feature), Vancouver International Film Festival 2024 (Insights Audience Award), Japan Indies Film Festival 2024 (International Friendship Award)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: English, Japanese
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- Format: DCP
- US Distributor: Off The Fence
- International Sales: Off The Fence