SHOWDOWN at SHINAGAWA has been honored as a Commended Winner in Non-Fiction in the 2014 Self-Publishing Review Awards. One of the three highest non-fiction awards!
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Editorial Reviews appear below.
“Funny, sweet, and wise…The best essays in Showdown at Shinagawa convey deeply moving human interest stories about filming advances in technology and medicine that save and improve lives. His love for his work is especially palpable when he tells the stories behind filming the doctor in India who doesn’t charge for treating people via telemedicine, the young man in England with cystic fibrosis who has a new lease on life thanks to a portable nebulizer, and the medical student in Uganda who is tirelessly working to help his people.” —Foreword Clarion Reviews
“The author recalls his near ‘big break’ in mainstream entertainment as a novice director doing preproduction in the Philippines for a low-budget Japanese sci-fi film, engendering friendship and loyalty from his motley collaborators even as the financing fell through. In contrast to many movie-insider tell-alls, Zarchy’s congenial voice is never mean-spirited or score-settling, and one is glad to be on his crew. He’ll eat lunch in this town/world again. Likely sushi or sashimi. Thumbs up for this filmmaker’s collection of postcards from the edge.” —Kirkus Reviews
“While the book bills itself most as being about the experience of foreign filmmaking, it really pulls together as a narrative about humanity in general in a very intriguing and heartwarming way, even when talking about the worst sides of a production or the lowest moments life can offer… The book is sarcastic and raucous just as much as it is honest and heartfelt, often both, and shows exactly the kind of spirit one needs to live an ever-shifting and highly-demanding lifestyle and career.” —Self-Publishing Review
“His essays are part shop talk of a film crew’s occupational memoirs, part uplifting insight on the ties that bind us culture to culture, human to human. His style is funny enough to make me laugh, and genuine enough to move me. I recognize some of the places and situations he was in, I sympathized with him as he encountered people and cultures I knew well, and I resonated with many of the things that inspired him.”—BookIdeas.com
“’Shanghai Lunch’ is a funny little vignette about Westerners trying Chinese delicacies, including the following food review: ‘slimy, yet satisfying.’ ‘Singapore: No Worry, Chicken Curry’ is full of character, trying to convey a sense of that tiny nation whose government tries to sanitize every surface and sweep every problem under the rug. ‘The Big Break: Malaise in Manila’ is a great little humor piece for those of you just dying to know how a B-movie gets made.” —IndieReader
“Well-written, sharp, and often quite charming…His stories revolve not around technical or logistical problems, but miscommunication, cultural disparities, and the all-too-common human foible of not putting yourself in the shoes of others.” —San Francisco Book Review
“A common theme running through Showdown at Shinagawa despite the diverse origins of the material [is] the camaraderie he has found on movie sets. Be it with his regular collaborators or just one-time-only encounters during semi-comical attempts to set up, break down, and get footage they need inside a Chinese skyscraper during off-hours, he has found the moving image to be a pretty darned good universal language.” —Cleveland Movie Blog
“The book introduces us to wonderful online viewing where Zarchy’s remarkable photographic talents are on display in blogs and links, where technology and humanity converge visually … Put your SFGiant’s cap on backwards, grab a cup of coffee or a beer, open a copy of Showdown at Shinagawa, and get to know a very interesting guy in a very interesting business.” —BookReview.com
“Zarchy’s writing style is superb, part memoir while providing intimate insight into the experiences of international film and video professionals. His articles and essays have appeared in major publications. The revealing color photos capture the right moment. The book provides deep insight into different cultures and the risks and challenges of filmmaking.” —Mindquest Review of Books