Japan’s Suntory Whisky is celebrating the centennial as the Founding House of Japanese Whisky with a Sofia Coppola tribute film featuring a number of familiar faces, including Keanu Reeves, who first worked with the brand on an ad in 1992. Coppola, who filmed her award-winning film Lost in Translation in Japan Twenty years ago returned to the country to create the Suntory Anniversary Tribute.
The short film, which features flashbacks of her famous director father Francis Ford Coppola sharing a glass with fellow legendary director Akira Kurosawa, along with Keanu Reeves, Bill Murray, Sammy Davis Junior, and others who have pitched the brand over the years. According to the brand, “The Suntory Whisky Anniversary Tribute tells the remarkable story of the brand’s heritage and whisky-making legacy over the last 100 years, depicting the meaning of “Suntory Time” through the eyes of its creator.”
Later this summer, Reeves will star in another creative project in partnership with the House of Suntory in a series of documentary shorts from filmmaker Roman Coppola titled “The Nature and Spirit of Japan.”
Suntory said the series explores Japanese whisky culture inspired by harmony with nature (Wa), elevated by Japanese craftsmanship (Monozukuri) and enjoyed as an authentic Japanese cultural experience (Omotenashi).
“I’m honored to partner with Suntory Whisky again thirty years after our Suntory Reserve campaign,” said Reeves.
“I’m a huge fan of Suntory Whisky, so it’s very special to collaborate in honor of this milestone anniversary. My admiration for the whisky goes beyond tasting the whisky. It is the elevated Japanese craftsmanship and attention to every detail that makes Suntory Whisky so special. As an actor honing and perfecting my own craft, sharing this process in a docuseries is a thrill.”
In honor of the centennial, the House of Suntory said it will be releasing several limited-edition whiskies that highlight the unique Japanese craftsmanship at Suntory’s whisky distilleries and their meticulous art of blending.
Credits
Brand Film (The Directors Bureau)
Director – Sofia Coppola
Managing Director / Executive Producer – Hillary Rogers
TDB Producer – Ash Marshall
Creative Producer – Chris Chang
Producer – Terri Shafirov
Japan Producer – Georgina Pope
Japan Line Producer – Teru Haruta
Director of Photography – Philippe Le Sourd
Steadicam – Koji Naoi
Gaffer – Yuji Wada
Production Designer – Scott Dougan
Art Director – Masami Tanaka
Costume Designer – Stacey Battat
Talent Producer – Hiroko Kawasaki
BTS – Shoichi Kajino
Editor – Chad Sipkin
Consulate EP – Alan Lopez
