The Man Who Sold Out Raindance with a Happi Coat: Mike Rogers’ Unstoppable Passion for Indie Film

 In 2018, Mike Rogers joined the Raindance Film Festival in London as the producer of the Japanese film Matsuchiyo – Life of a Geisha.

It was his second time attending the renowned international festival.
The first was with Ghostroads, which had its world premiere at Raindance years earlier.

You might imagine that a long-running global festival like Raindance would be packed with people, with sold-out screenings and the entire neighborhood buzzing like a carnival.
But the reality is quite different.

During the festival, many films are shown at various theaters across London. However, even for heavily promoted titles, it’s not unusual to see plenty of empty seats.
Surprisingly, many filmmakers and producers from around the world show up full of enthusiasm—enjoying the parties, sightseeing, and networking—but don’t even consider promoting their own screenings.
Some don’t bring flyers. Others don’t bring posters. And hardly anyone actively tries to sell tickets.

Mike Rogers, however, was different.

Drawing from his experience with Ghostroads, Mike came prepared.
For Matsuchiyo, he brought with him a happi coat, a comical hyottoko mask, a portable cassette deck from Japan, and a CD of traditional Japanese bon-odori music.
He strapped a movie poster to his back like a sandwich board and hit the streets of London—handing out flyers, playing music, and inviting people to come see the film.

Thanks to his guerrilla-style campaign—and a lucky appearance on live BBC radio—the screenings sold out.
In fact, Matsuchiyo achieved something no other film had done in Raindance history: a full 3-day sell-out.

Of course, selling out doesn’t mean the producers get any share of the ticket revenue.
But as Mike says with a grin,

“If I go all the way to London with my own money and nobody shows up for the screening... my wife would kill me!”

As his wife (and the one writing this), I had hoped he’d take time to enjoy London—do some sightseeing, go to punk shows (his other passion), and make new friends at the parties.
But Mike spent nearly every day on the streets, tirelessly promoting the film.

And his hard work paid off.

That year, Raindance awarded him a one-time-only special honor:
The Best Festival Campaign Award—created just for him.

It didn’t change his life overnight, but it did ignite something deeper:
the desire to bring that same energy and international spirit back to Japan.

Since then, Mike has poured his soul into building a real international indie film festival in Tokyo—
a place where bold, creative, and independent voices from around the world can shine.

He’s the kind of person who, once he believes in something, throws himself in completely.
And somehow, people around him start to believe too.

🎟️ Tickets for JIFF 2025 (Japan Indies Film Festival) are now available!
Join us on November 26 & 27, 2025, at Theater Guild Daikanyama in Tokyo.
Special 2-day passes with limited edition JIFF T-shirts are now on pre-sale.
Don’t miss this chance—grab your ticket now!

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He makes the impossible feel possible.