Left to Right: Shige Suganuma, Owner of MOONEYES; Dean Moon, Jr.; Ming Lai, Director; Chico Kodama, President of MOONEYES USA
On behalf of “Craft of Speed” and MOONEYES, thank you so much to everyone who attended our U.S. Premiere! We deeply appreciate you supporting our film and even more so MOONEYES. It was so special to see so many family, friends, hot rodders, racers, builders, craftspeople, designers, artists, enthusiasts, and the community celebrating with us. Thank you to everyone who traveled from afar to attend our event. Thank you for your standing ovation, kind words and, most of all, warm company and longtime friendship.
We hope you enjoyed the beautiful setting of our premiere—the Lions Automobilia Museum. It honors the legendary Lions Drag Strip, one of the most famous drag strips in southern California during the heyday of drag racing. Behind an unassuming door, they have an extenstive collection of not only dragsters but also race cars, hot rods, classic cars, and movie cars, including the original Batmobile, designed by George Barris. In choosing this unique venue, we wanted to create an unforgettable “cinema event” for you. Thank you to Lana Chrisman and your entire team at the Lions Automobilia Museum for your exceptional hospitality.
Our end credits are unapologetically long because so many people assisted in making our film. Independent filmmaking and distribution are extremely challenging. We are forever grateful to everyone who supported us and our documentary project. Our film simply wouldn’t be possible without you. Thank you so much to our talented crew, whom we consider not only as colleagues but also mentors. Thank you to our interviewees whose knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm fueled our film. A heartfelt thank you to our fiscal sponsor the International Documentary Association, generous donors, and strong supporters. Many thanks to the hot rodding, racing, speed industry, and car & motorcycle community for all your inspiration and assistance.
Most of all, thank you to Shige Suganuma, Chico Kodama, and Dean Moon, Jr. and your wonderful families. It’s been such a joy documenting your important story. Thank you for all your love and support. Our deepest thanks to all the MOONEYES staff, dealers, and racing teams in the U.S., Japan, and worldwide. Special thanks to Jim Dunn and his incredible family and team, who couldn’t attend because they were, of course, racing.
Our U.S. Premiere celebration continues with the Online Screening of our film from Saturday, 7/27/2024 to Saturday, 8/3/2024. Please stay tuned as we plan more special events for you—the awesome fans of MOONEYES.
See photos from the screening.