This week I will be discussing another great movie from the people of Happy Science in Japan. The new movie, "Twiceborn" is based on the life of Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science, Japan’s fastest-growing and most influential spiritual movement with 12 million members across 100 countries. Based on true events, Twiceborn tells the story of Satoru Ichijo, a highly successful businessman who relinquishes everything to pursue his true calling, the happiness of humankind. The film opens in July 1991 with Satoru lecturing to more than 50,000 people in Tokyo Dome. The story then flashes back to the months leading up to his college graduation when Satoru, a top scholar, and athlete, begins receiving messages from the spiritual world. After graduation, Satoru is invited to join a highly respected international trading firm, where he soon becomes very successful and is positioned for a vault to the executive suite. Meanwhile, he is spending all of his leisure time reading spiritual philosophers, recording the messages and insights he is constantly receiving from his spirit guides, and coming to terms with the astounding and overwhelming message his spirit guides have for him: “Your mission as the Buddha reborn is to save all people by spreading the Truth.”

Yoichi Utebi, Executive Vice President of HS Productions Born in Japan in 1968, Yoichi Utebi grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and New York City. Raised in a rare Japanese Christian family, he was deeply touched by Muslim culture and the beauty of Lebanon during his formative years in Beirut. However, the Middle East also exposed Utebi to the horrors of war, as he and his family dodged bullets and bombings before fleeing to London and back to Japan, leaving everything behind in a sudden evacuation. In the 7th grade, Utebi moved to New York for 10 years, where he was exposed to friends from multiple cultures and ethnicities. His rock band produced a popular album and gained quite a following in the city before Utebi decided to forego his musical pursuits and return to Japan. After 12 years of experience in marketing and senior management at various American IT companies in Japan, Utebi joined Happy Science in 2010, where he quickly rose to Director of International Communications. Utebi is currently leading Happy Science’s International Media Division and is the Executive Vice President of HS Productions and producer of Twiceborn. Limited theatrical release: ? October 16 in Chicago; San Francisco; Bergen County, NY; Tampa; Honolulu; San Diego; and Orange County, CA. ? October 23 in New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta Available on DVD and all VOD platforms January 19, 2021.

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