SPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA
@43rdFILMFESTGENT(11-22October2016)
PROFILE
FilmFestGentwasestablishedin1974asastudent'sfilmfestival,andhassince
developed into one of Europe's most prominent film events. Every year in
October,thefestivalpresentssome100featuresand30shortsfromallacross
the world. A range of different film programs is showcased, attracting over
100,000visitors.
WithitsFocusonFilmMusicthefestivalestablisheditsuniqueplaceamong
international festivals. Every year, the festival organizes film music concerts,
givingcomposersoffilmscorestheplatformtheydeserve.Composerssuchas
Ennio Morricone, Michel Legrand, Gabriel Yared, Elmer Bernstein, Giorgio
Moroder, Pino Donaggio, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Howard Shore, Georges Delerue,
HansZimmer,MauriceJarre,CraigArmstrong,MichaelDanna,GustavoSantaolallaaresome
ofthemanyfilmmusiclegendswhohavealreadytakenthestageatGhent.
Since 2001, Film Fest Gent has also organized the World Soundtrack Awards, the most
prestigioussoundtrackawardsintheworld.Eachyear,thebestsoundtrackcomposersare
honored and receive international recognition for their work. This pioneering role has
certainlyhadanimpact.Ghenthasgrownintoameetingpointforestablishedandup-andcoming musical talent. Since 2004, even the European Film Academy – encouraged by the
festival-hashonoredthebestEuropeansoundtrackcomposers.
TradepaperVarietyplacedtheFilmFestGentinitsTop50mustattendfestivalsoftheworld
becauseofthisfocusonfilmmusic.AmericanfinancialnewspaperTheWallStreetJournal
calledthefestivaloneofthefiveEuropeanFilmFestivalswithcharacter!
SPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA
@43rdFILMFESTGENT2016(11-22October2016)
AfterafocusonAmericanIndependentsin2013,onFrenchcinemain2014andonBritish
cinemain2015,FilmFestGentwillhonourinOctober2016therichnessandinnovativespirit
ofJapanesecinema.
WiththeworkofKiyoshiKurosawa(JourneytotheShore),ShinjiAoyama(Eureka),SogoIshii
(LabyrinthofDreams),HirokazuKore’eda(OurLittleSister),KoheiOguri(TheSleepingMan),
NaomiKawase(An)andtheintenselyprolificTakashiMiike(YakuzaApocalypse)Japaneseart
housecinemacontinuestoinspireinterestandadmirationintheWest,andrightlyso!
InourspecialSpotlightonJapanesecinemasome10recentandnew
filmsandBelgianpremièreswillbeselectedasashowcasefortheNew
JapaneseCinemadirectorsandforthenextgreattalents.
ScreeningsofJapanesefilmsareofcoursenotlimitedtotheSpotlight
on Japan section, but will also be included in the other international
sections:Competition,Galas&Specials,ArtistsonFilm,Classics.
Atthisstageweareinfinaltalkswithlocaldistributorsforthesetitles:
AftertheStorm–HirokazuKoreeda–Japan2016
Creepy–KiyoshiKurosawa–Japan2016
Lafemmedelaplaqueargentique–KiyoshiKurosawa–France/Japan/Belg2016
Harmonium–KôjiFukada–Japan2016
ThisprogramwillbecompletedbynewandrecentfilmsthroughJapanesesalescompanies.
AspartofthisSpotlightinJapanesecinemawealsoplanaretrospectiveofthemostimportant
JapanesefilmdirectorofsixtiesNagisaÔshima.Thisfilmswillbeshowninthisprogram:
•
DeathbyHangging(Japan1968)
•
Boy(Japan1969)
•
TheCeremony(Japan1971)
•
L’Empiredessens(Japan/France1976)
•
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (UK/Japan/N-Zaeland
1983)
•
Gohatto(Japan/France/UK1999)
WealsoplanseminarsandQ&A’swithJapanesetalentandhopetobeabletoinvitesome
keyJapanesefilmmakersandcomposerstopresenttheirworktoaBelgianaudience.
THEMUSICOFRYUICHISAKAMOTO
AsfilmmusicisanimportantaspectofFilmFest
Gent,wewillalsocelebrateJapanesefilmmusic
in our concert programmes. The World
Soundtrack Academy’s Lifetime Achievement
AwardwillbepresentedtoRyuichiSakamotoon
October 19. A selection of his work will be
performed by Brussels Philharmonic conducted
by Dirk Brossé on a unique compilation album
focusing on Sakamoto's film scores. For this
album Film Fest Gent launched a crowdfunding
campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bringing-r-sakamoto-s-film-music-to-yourears--2#
ArtisticdirectorofFilmFestGentPatrickDuynslaegheronchoosingtheJapanesecomposer:
WeareextremelypleasedtowelcomeMr.SakamotonextOctoberattheWorldSoundtrack
AwardsGalawherehewillbetherecipientoftheLifetimeAchievementAwardforhisworkas
a film composer. With his recent creative collaboration with Mexican director Alejandro
G.Inarrituon'THEREVENANT'RyuichiSakamotofoundhimselfagainattheforefrontofthe
filmmusicprofession.
RyuichiSakamotowasalreadyacelebratedrock-popcomposer/pianist/singerinJapanwhen
heconqueredtheinternationalfilmscenein1983withhisscoreforNagisaOshima’s'Merry
ChristmasMr.Lawrence',afilminwhichhealsostarredalongsideDavidBowie.Eversince,his
workforleadingJapanese(Oshimaagainfor'Gohatto')andinternationaldirectors(Bernardo
Bertolucci’s 'The Last Emperor', in which he also played a part and for which he won an
Academy Award for best Original Score, 'The Sheltering Sky' and 'Little Buddha'; Brian De
Palma’s'SnakeEyes'and'FemmeFatale';PedroAlmodovar’s'HighHeels';VolkerSchlöndorff’s
'TheHandmaid’sTale';OliverStone’sproducedtelevisionminiseriesWildPalms)revealedhim
asoneofthemostinventivefilmcomposersofourtime.
For those films and many more Japanese titles that did not get released in the West, he
conceived a unique approach of composing for the movies: a blend of splendid melodies,
synthesizerwork,traditionalorchestralmusic,drumtracks,soundeffectsandunusualmusical
colors.Outofthestrikingcontrastsofmusicalstylesandcultures,hecreatedstandoutscores
thatwillneverstoptofascinateandenchantus.
Additionally,twoJapanesefilmswillbescreenedinaccompaniedbylivemusic:theanimated
classicBelladonnabyEiichiYamamoto(Japan1973)withlivemusicbytheAmericanrockband
Earthandinco-operationwithArsMusicawearealsoproudtopresentthefilmLesGosses
deTokyobyYasujirôOzu(Japan1932)forwhichcomposerGwenaëlGrisimadeanewscore.
ThisprojectwillgetitsworldpremièreinOctoberinGhentandwillbeperformedlaterin
BrusselsaspartoftheArsMusicafestival.
WHYASPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA?
IntrobyPatrickDuynslaegher,ArtisticDirectorFilmFestGent
BecauseJapanesecinemaisoneoftheworld’sgreatestnationalfilmindustriesandinrecent
yearsmanyimportantnewJapanesefilmsandfilmmakershaveemerged.
SinceAkiraKurosawafirstbroughtJapanesefilmstointernationalattention,somesixtyyears
agowithRashomonwinningtheGrandPrixatthe1951Venicefilmfestival,theaudiencein
theWesthasdiscoveredoneoftheworld’sgreatestnationalcinemas.Internationaltouring
retrospectives devoted to such classical directors as Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Akira
Kurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, Masaki Kobayashi, Mikio Naruse revealed a country of master
filmmakers.
‘TheJapanesecinemacannoteasilybedefined,anymorethatcanthecountrythatproduced
it,’notesAlexanderJacobyinACriticalHandbookofJapaneseFilmDirectors.
‘The neon and concrete city is as “typically Japanese” as the forested mountain; the zen
gardenasthepachinkoparlor;theNohtheatreasthecomicstrip.Itisunsurprisingthatthis
contradictorycountryhasproducedacinemaofgreatrangeandscope.Japanesefilmscanbe
among the world’s most tender or the world’s most violent; they can be understated or
melodramatic,leisurelyorhectic;insubjectmattertheyspanmorethanathousandyearsof
historyandeverygenre.TheJapanesecinema,inphasesbothofindustrialandindependent
production,hasbeenadirector’scinema–whichistosaythatitiscinemainwhichindividual
artistshavebeenabletosustaintheircreativityandtoexplorepersonalconcerns.Andthis
creativityhasbeenremarkablyrobust.’
‘OutstandingfilmmakershavebeenatworkinJapanfromthetwentiestothepresentday;
there are periods of more and less consistent achievement, but Japanese directors have
succeeded in producing distinguished films in every decade, despite social changes and
varyingpoliticalandeconomicpressures.’
The generation of new directors that began to emerge in the late 1950s and early 1960s
rebelledagainstwhattheyperceivedasanincreasinglyformulaicstudiosystem.‘Theywere
thefirstartiststorejecttheworkoftheireldersandlookoutsideofJapaninsearchofanew
aesthetic,’writesStuartGalbraithIVinhisbookJapaneseCinema.
ThemostfamousamongsttheJapaneseNewWavewasNagasiÔshima,butthisgroupalso
includedMasahiroShinoda,SusumoHani,YoshishigeYoshidaandShoheiImamura.Oshima
made a cycle of films showing violent youth in revolt and examined the hypocrisies of
JapaneseracismandcapitalpunishmentinDeathbyHanging(1968).Hisexplorationsofcrime
and transgressive sexuality culminated in The Realm of the Senses (1976), the most
provocativefilmofthemostformallyinnovativedirectorofhisgeneration.
Japanesecinemahasalsoarealknackforfantasticcinemaandcrimemovies,rangingfrom
thegiant-monster-movie(Godzilla)tothegangsterfilmsofTakeshiKitano,thegrittyyakuza
movies of Kenji Fukasaku and the eerie ‘J-horror’ of Hideo Nakata. And of course anime _
Japaneseanimatedfilms_hasconqueredaworldwideaudience,withthefilmsofKatsuhiro
OtomoandHayaoMiyazakilaunchingtheanimeboomintheWest.