Studio Happy Chicken Pink Releases ‘Les Gamins’ in U.S.

LOS ANGELES—Released in February by Japanese gravure studio Studio Happy Chicken Pink to critical acclaim, Les Gamins continues to impress fans worldwide. Viewed more as an art house film than adult content, Les Gamins takes the viewer into the underworld of the Philippines where anything goes and girls do what they must to survive. It is a dark Fantasia of sorts where images and sound mix to create a dark and hypnotic world. In speaking about the film, studio owner and founder Charlie Maib said, "the film is meant to have an emotional impact on the viewer. It doesn't tell people what to think, it lets them draw their own conclusions. Some people are convinced that it's a murder mystery—in fact I've seen it categorized as a mystery in some stores. Other retailers call it a foreign film. Others call it a mature film. I like that it defies convention. Akira Kurosawa once said that he didn't make his films with a message behind them, that whatever the viewer got from the film was their own personal message; that's how I feel about Les Gamins.”  Continuing, Maib said, "Les Gamins is the first Japanese gravure film and first pink film to ever be carried by traditional retail in the U.S. It has broken new ground in that it's available for purchase from places like Best Buy and Sears. That in itself is a milestone for this form of Japanese cinema." Filmed in Manila, Philippines, Les Gamins stars Japanese starlets Naomi Ishikawa and Risa Hashimoto. A clip from one of the scenes featuring Ishikawa can be viewed here. To celebrate Studio Happy Chicken Pink’s accomplishments, IGN.com featured one of the company’s actresses, Ayaka Uchimaya, as the website’s Babe of the Day for March 4.