“Bossy teachers push kids around. They think they know everything. But the Bosozoku bros kicked their asses with their revving and taught them a lesson.” Sayonara Speed Tribes tells the story of Hazuki, a middle-aged Bosozoku gangster fighting to hang on to his outlaw lifestyle. This could be the first major Bosozoku documentary since Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Jamie Morris, the producer/director behind the film, describes it thusly:

“HAZUKI fought and rode his way into BOSOZOKU legend as leader of the infamous Narushino SPECTER a gang which numbered in the ten's of thousands and controlled much of the burbs outside of Tokyo.

“But change is in the air...

“In Japan, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down" and as a result, the BOSOZOKU biker numbers have dramatically decreased over the past decade; a very, hard realization for middle aged HAZUKI considering his dwindling options. As an amatuer kickboxer, he stills wears a mock up of his old BOSOZOKU jacket where he competes in matches in an attempt to channel his old glory.

“Like most BOSOZOKU gangsters HAZUKI is a tough, somewhat clownish outsider pedaling a tough guy image. A fanatic about his BOSOZOKU tradition, he mentors BOSOZOKU youngsters in opposition to police and public pressure that is hell bent on ridding Japan of the gangs.

“As HAZUKI's own gang SPECTER dwindles in numbers he confronts his past and the future of the BOSOZOKU while carving out his place in some very surprising sectors of Japanese society. The question is, can he turn his back on the glory of his past and his precious gang SPECTER?

“This film explores BOSOZOKU culture with interviews, bike runs, and MANGA-MATION (animated manga comics as seen in the video.) There are some twists and turns as HAZUKI battles his way through life in a documentary that both informs and touches the soul as only an intimate potrait can. SAYONARA SPEED TRIBES opens up deep wounds in Japan's historical treatment of outcasts and the underworld as personified by HAZUKI's story, but at it's heart the film is about the untamed yearning of youth and the aching realization that, for many of us the best days have been left behind.”

Jamie’s finished shooting the film, but is raising funds on Kickstarter to enable him to finalize post-production, animation and licensing music and archival footage. You can help him realize his dream of creating a contemporary Bosozoku documentary by kicking in a small amount of funding through Kickstarter. We did.

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