Jasper Sharp : events
17
Jan
Japan Foundation ‘Whose Film Is It Anyway?’ UK tour, ICA London and other venues across the UK

Event: ‘Whose Film Is It Anyway? Contemporary Japanese Auteurs’ Japan Foundation UK Touring Programme

Venue: Institute of Contemporary Arts, then Belfast Queen’s Film Theatre, Bristol Watershed, Edinburgh Filmhouse, Glasgow Film Theatre, Nottingham Broadway and Sheffield Showroom

When: 10-16 February in London, then to 28 March 2012, at other venues

Kenji Uchida's A Stranger of Mine.

This year’s Japan Foundation annual touring film programme looks at narrative creativity by contemporary Japanese directors in contrast to the recent storm of adaptations, and how they express their voices through cinema. Ranging from the emerging to the established, this programme showcases directors who are not necessarily well-represented in this country, but whose works demonstrate their keen creativity.

Giants such as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu are renowned for their uniquely creative signature styles, along with more recent examples such as Takeshi Kitano and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, but recent years have revealed a more mundane side to the industry, where the top-grossing titles have largely been generic spin-offs of TV shows or adaptations of other sources such as popular manga and novels unpublished outside Japan, in order to generate audiences based on a pre-existing associated market.

This programme is an effort to demonstrate that there are in fact still a number of Japanese directors who, rather than being swayed by ever-fickle markets and following a “safe” formulaic film model, have instead elected to pursue their own methods of expressing themselves and using film as a voice. 9 directors have been selected for this programme, including the respected Masayuki Suo and unique auteure Miwa Nishikawa.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme continues to go from strength to strength, returning this year with more films and more venues than ever before!

Programme advice from Jasper Sharp

Films In Season:

A Stranger of Mine (Kenji Uchida, 2005)

About Her Brother (Yoji Yamada, 2010)

All Around Us (Ryosuke Hashiguchi, 2008)

Bad Company (Tomoyuki Furumaya, 2001)

Dear Doctor (Miwa Nishikawa, 2009)

Heart Beating In The Dark (Shinichi Nagasaki, 2005)

I Just Didn’t Do It (Masayuki Suo, 2007)

Sleep (Katsumi Sakaguchi, 2011)

The Dark Harbour (Takatsugu Naito, 2008)

Guests from Japan:

Q&A session with director Masayuki Suo (I Just Didn’t Do It)

ICA Screenings: 11th February (3:30pm) ; 12th February (4:00pm)

+

Q&A session with director Katsumi Sakaguchi (Sleep)

ICA Screening: 16th February & Showroom Screening: 17th February

View Larger Map

Posted at 12:10 on 17 January 2012 Filed under events.
1  
24
Nov
Zipangu Fest, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Event: Zipangu Fest – Japanarchy in the UK

Venue: Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH

When: 18-24 November 2011

Following the success of last year’s inaugural festival, the second Zipangu Fest – celebrating the best of cutting edge and avant garde Japanese cinema – will be held at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts from November 18th to 24th, before moving to venues around the UK.

Showcasing a selection of Japan’s finest features, documentaries, shorts, animation and experimental films, this year’s Zipangu Fest will include a retrospective screening of two rarely seen gems that have never been shown in the UK. One of these – a pre-war horror title – has been subtitled especially for the festival.

SECOND ZIPANGU FEST TO KICK OFF AT LONDON’S ICA

Festival director and head programmer, Jasper Sharp, comments: ‘After the runaway success of last year’s festival, we are very excited about Zipangu Fest 2011. Our aim is to showcase the wealth of talent in the independent and experimental filmmaking scene in Japan by showing the sort of films that other festivals barely seem to be aware of. The beauty of Japanese film is that you know you’re always going to see something different, and this year we’ve got another exciting and diverse range of titles to challenge, provoke and entertain. We’re particularly thrilled that the ICA is hosting this year’s event, as it is the perfect venue for us, and with last year’s programme touring to cities including Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle and Tallinn in Estonia, we hope to continue with our goal of bringing these films to as wide an audience as possible.’

To make sure you are kept up to date with Zipangu Fest news, please subscribe to our press list: http://zipangufest.com/press/2011

For further press information please contact: Sarah Macdonald: sarah@zipangufest.com

You can also join out Facebook group or sign up to our Twitter feed.

View Larger Map

Posted at 15:35 on 24 November 2011 Filed under events.
Comments Off  
24
Sep
All-nighter Female Prisoner #701 Triple Bill at the Rio Cinema, Dalston, London

Event: Female Prisoner #701 Triple Bill

Venue: Rio Cinema, 103-107 Kingsland, High Street, London E8 2PB

When: Saturday 24 September 2011, from 11pm





All-nighter at the Rio, Dalston

Cigarette Burns Cinema’s second instalment of the Scala Forever season, this time with Special Guest Host, Jasper Sharp.

Back in the late 60s the Japanese film studios targeted the growing teenage audience by combining Pinky or soft porn films with the violent Yakuza and Samurai genres, thus was born: Pinky Violence.  Top of the list is the hugely influential FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION series. We follow Sasori as she is double crossed and set up by her high ranking detective lover. A powerful performance by Meiko Kaji (LADY SNOWBLOOD) creates one of cinema’s most unforgettable women. Imprisoned, defiant and bent on revenge, they call her Scorpion for a reason.

Dee Dee is busy stocking her Vault of Vintage and the ever present Graham Murphy of Flashback Records will be spinning sexy tunes into the wee hours.Of course the bar will remain open throughout the film and after. All for a measly £15.
Getting home will NOT be a problem, we aim to be finished in time for you to be able to catch the first trains homes, with no standing around time.The Rio Cinema is stupid easy to get to and from-Buses, 38, 56, 67, 76, 243, 242, 149, plus East London Line to Dalston Junction and the Overground to Dalston Kingsland all drop you off at the Rio’s doorstep and plenty of night buses back.
View Larger Map

Posted at 23:00 on 24 September 2011 Filed under events.
Comments Off