Neil Cantwell and Tim Grabham's remarkable new documentary Kanzeon

There’s another great line-up at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre this July, high points of which include Catcher On the Shore, the directorial debut of 14-year-old Okinawan boy, Ryugo Nakamura (yes, you did read that correctly: 14-year-old!!!), a rare screening of Torajiro Saito’s 1935 Shochiku Kamada comedy Kid’s Commotion starring “the Japanese Charlie Chaplin” Shigeru Ogura and presented with a live Foley sound effects accompaniment and demonstration by Goto Koyama (this is going to be amazing!), and the world premiere of Kanzeon, a stunning new British documentary about Buddhism and music (actually it’s about a whole lot more than that, but it’s sort of difficult to explain – check out the official website). Oh yes, and there’s some other old favourites we screened in London as part of last year’s Zipangu Fest, including the CALF animation programme and Mean-eater Mountain.

Catcher on the Shore, by 14-year-old filmmaking prodigy Ryugo Nakamura

We’re also closing the festival with Yuya Ishii’s Sawako Decides, one of the titles that did the rounds of the UK as part of the Japan Foundation UK’s touring programme earlier this year. If you didn’t catch it in Britain, or if you want to see it again, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s been picked up for distribution byThird Window Films, and will be out in theatres from 8 July, with a DVD to follow. Anyway, I’m not going to go into too much detail about the programme here, other than to cut and paste some of the highlights from Chris’ page, but suffice it to say, its another goodie for Torontonians, so if you’re in the city at the end of July, don’t miss…

I unfortunately won’t be at Shinsedai this year due to scheduling conflicts with another very special film event that is occurring on the other side of the world (well, almost…) in Poland, which I’ll do my utmost to shed some light on before the week is out.

In the meantime, here’s the lowdown on this year’s Shinsedai:

OPENING NIGHT FILM: Hospitalité (dir. Koji Fukuda, 2010)

A sly, humorous and insightful satire of contemporary a Japanese family and the secrets they keep from each other that begins as an homage to the classic domestic dramas of Yasujiro Ozu, but ends up in the comic territory of Tampopo director Juzo Itami.

Sly satire from Koji Fukuda, Hospitalité

HORROR FEATURE: Shirome (dir. Koji Shiraishi, 2010)

Koji Shiraishi, director of “Occult” and the controversial “Grotesque”, revitalizes the J-Horror genre with a mockumentary that combines the low-budget scares of The Blair Witch Project and American Idol instant stardom into an entirely unique and chilling experience.

Blair Witch Project meets The X-Factor, in Koji Shiraishi's Shirome

CENTERPIECE SCREENING: Wandering Home (dir. Yoichi Higashi, 2010)

Tadanobu Asano gives a career defining performance as real-life photojournalist Yutaka Kamoshida as he struggles to overcome alcoholism. Far from being a journey into the underbelly of addiction “Wandering Home” is a life-affirming drama filled with love, gentle humour and reconciliation.

Tadanobu Asano stars in Wandering Home

FAMILY FEATURE: Azemichi Road (dir. Fumie Nishikawa, 2009)

“Azemichi Road” takes the classic underdog genre and gives it new life. Yuki, a young deaf girl, takes a journey from silence to acceptance through her involvement in an amateur dance troupe. Film-maker Fumie Nishikawa sets her feel-good kids film in the gorgeous landscapes of Japan’s countryside.

Fun for all the family, Azemichi Road

SILENT CLASSIC: Kid Commotion (dir. Torajiro Saito, 1935)

The Shinsedai Cinema Festival is very proud to present a special screening of Torajiro Saito’s “Kid Commotion”, starring Japan’s answer to Charlie Chaplin Shigeru Ogura as a harried father, with the accompaniment of live sound effects provided by foley artist Goro Koyama. Audiences will not only have a chance to see a very rare and very funny silent film, but will have the opportunity to learn about the art of movie sound effects.

Vintage Japanese slapstick, Kid's Commotion, presented with a very unusual accompaniment!

CLOSING NIGHT FILM: Sawako Decides (dir. Yuya Ishii, 2010)

Director Yuya Ishii’s return to the Shinsedai Cinema Festival, “Sawako Decides” is the hilarious story of a young woman (actress Hikari Mistushima) who returns to her home town to care for her ailing father and to straighten out her life after a series of low-paying jobs and less than ideal boyfriends.

Soon to go on theatrical release in the UK, Sawako Decides is Shinsedai's Closing Night Screening

Peaches organizer Atsuko Ohno raising a kampai with Vortex director Yoshihiro Ito

It’s always pretty tough launching a new film festival, especially one that doesn’t deal with cult or genre material, but all in all, attendances were good, the comments on the response forms positive, and everyone seemed to have a great time, myself included. I was mightily impressed with the calibre of the audience, who seemed intelligent and receptive to new and sometimes challenging material. I guess the choice of venue, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre was a key factor in this: the audience members either had firsthand experience of Japan or a genuine interest in the culture, meaning that films such as Yutaka Tsuchiya’s The New God, Yasutomo Chikuma’s Now, I… and Hiroki Iwabuchi’s Freeter’s Distress got the audiences they deserved and provoked animated discussions after the screenings. A lot of people really had their eyes opened by these titles, which show a completely different side of Japan to the one portrayed in the films that usually circulate in the West.

Akinoh Kondo's animated short The Evening Traveling

On the other side of the coin, we had more experimental material. Yoshihiro Ito’s Vortex and Others shorts programme and Aruongaku, a concert film on the avant-garde filmmaker/musician Masakatsu Takagi were met with a unanimously positive response. (I should add to European readers with a taste in such material, many of these films received their first international screening at the world’s greatest Japanese film festival, Nippon Connection in Frankfurt).

With festival co-organizer Chris Magee, and Thunderfish star Junko Kimoto at opening ceremony.

We were also lucky so many of the filmmakers came out to Toronto to join us too. Yasutomo Chikuma, Yoshihiro Ito, Peaches festival organiser Atsuko Ohno, animator/illustrator Akino Kondoh, and the Thunderfish-gumi of director Touru Hano, cinematographer Tetsuhiro Kato, and leading lady Junko Kimoto (pictured here quaffing sake with me and Chris Magee during the opening ceremony) all had a great time chatting with the audience, and participating in the panel discussion about the state of independent cinema. It’s a near certainty that we’ll be able to build upon this success for next year, with an even bigger and bolder programme, but I should add at this point that none of this would have been possible without the generous sponsorship of Subaru Canada (oh that UK-based companies were as generous!), the guiding hand of the unsung hero behind the scenes James Heron (rather like the cat in Hong Kong Phooey) and his colleagues at the JCCC, as well as the smiling, ever-helpful legions of volunteers. And of course, a huge thanks to Chris Magee of Toronto’s own J-Film Pow-Wow for his sterling work in bringing this all together in such a short time, and my personal thanks to him and the delightful Polly for putting me up for the weekend and keeping the whiskey flowing. Until the next time…

Less than a fortnight to go now till the first annual Shinsedai Festival, a weekend event I helped organize with Chris MaGee of the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow to celebrate the best in new indie talent currently working in Japan, and I must say, I’m mighty excited. It’s been about 15 years since I was last in Toronto, and I have a very hazy recollection of the place: all I remember is that they had black squirrels and hot dogs the size you could take someone’s eye out with them if you weren’t careful.

I, of course, am going to have to rely heavily on a chaperone for the weekend I’m there, but Toronto-ites interested in attending will probably know how to get to the venue where it’s all happening, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, located at 6 Garamond Court in Toronto, Ontario.

Hottentot Apron: A Sketch

And wow, should you attend if you get a chance!? There’s a full weekend of screenings, kicking off on Friday, 21^st August, at 7.30pm, with last year’s Pia Film Festival Grand Prix Winner, Naked of Defenses, directed by Masahide Ichii, which is followed directly by Kei Shichiri’s intriguingly-titled Hottentot Apron: A Sketch. I know nothing about this second one, which was one of Chris’ selection, one of the reasons why the event is going to be such a revelation. Chris and I have programmed the whole event about 50/50, and I know he keeps his ear pretty close to the ground, but effectively every one of these titles is getting its Canadian premiere, and these are the sort of films that seem to fall under the radar of most festivals, so you can be rest assured, there’s going to be some revelations.

Thunderfish

The full schedule has been up online for a while now, so I won’t go over it here, but I will say I am delighted we’re screening Thunderfish, which was a big hit at Raindance a couple of years back, and features some stunning cinematography and a loopy set design quite unlike anything else I’ve seen from Japan in recent years – I’m happy to say that director Touru Hano, lead actress Junko Kimoto and cinematographer Tetsuhiro Kato will also be around for the weekend. Other top tips are Yuki Tanada’s hilarious feature debut Moon and Cherry, playing under its new North American retitling as Electric Button, Yutaka Tsuchiya’s enlightening documentary and a personal favourite of mine, The New God, and Yoshihiro Ito’s stunning shorts program, Vortex and Others – Ito will also be around the festival, along with his main muse and star of several of these works, Natsumi Seto. I’m not usually a big fan of shorts programs, but these are really something. Ito knows how to use the 8mm and 16mm formats perfectly, and these decidedly trippy films are a must if you’re into the likes of Seijun Suzuki and David Lynch. There’s a full interview on the main homepage of the festival, if you haven’t seen it already.

There’s a whole host of guests going to be around the festival, including Yasutomo Chikuma (Now, I…), Atsuko Ohno (producer of the Peaches shorts program) and yours truly, who will be signing copies of Behind the Pink Curtain for anyone that wants one signed. A damn fine weekend lies ahead, so I suggest you all get signing up for your tickets right away!

One thing I am disappointed about though is that I’m arriving too late to catch the Shinsedai tie-in screenings with the monthly screening even Film Fort, who are going to be showing a whole load of recent experimental Japanese animation on Tuesday, August 18th to whet everyone’s appetites.

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