I honestly never expected Steven Spielberg in a Criterion Channel series––certainly not one that pairs him with Kogonada, anime, and Johnny Mnemonic––but so’s the power of artificial intelligence. Perhaps his greatest film (at this point I don’t need to tell you the title) plays with After Yang, Ghost in the Shell, and pre-Matrix Keanu in July’s aptly titled “AI” boasting also Spike Jonze’s Her, Carpenter’s Dark Star, and Computer Chess. Much more analog is a British Noir collection obviously carrying the likes of Odd Man Out, Night and the City, and The Small Back Room, further filled by Joseph Losey’s Time Without Pity and Basil Dearden’s It Always Rains on Sunday. (No two ways about it: these movies have great titles.) An Elvis retrospective brings six features, and the consensus best (Don Siegel’s Flaming Star) comes September 1.
While Isabella Rossellini...
While Isabella Rossellini...
- 6/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our email newsletter by clicking here.NEWSJeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.At last, Sight & Sound have released the results of the 2022 Greatest Films of All Time critics’ poll. 1,639 ballots later, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) has risen to the number-one spot, accompanied by a new piece from Laura Mulvey. The New York Times offers a useful interactive feature to unpack how the rankings have evolved over time.The American documentarian Julia Reichert—best known for Growing Up Female (1971), Union Maids (1976), and the Oscar-winning American Factory (2019)—died last week of cancer at age 76. Eric Hynes wrote an elegant appreciation of her work in a 2020 piece for Crosscuts, published by the Walker Art Center: Consistently through half a century of filmmaking, Reichert spends time with people.
- 12/6/2022
- MUBI
An Electric Selection of Early, Shot on Film Shorts & Features From Some of Japan’s Most Daring Directors
Metrograph presents Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Years, an electric showcase of restored early works from some of Japan’s boldest filmmakers, beginning December 2, 2022 at Metrograph in Theater.
At the same time that the Japanese studios were going into tailspin decline at the end of the 1970s, a rude burst of amateur cinematic anarchy was erupting from the underground. This new jishu eiga, or “autonomous film,” was a cinema by and for outsiders, many of them shooting run-and-gun-style in the streets on cheap 8mm film (hachimiri in Japanese). The jishu film movement, which found a home after 1977 at the Pia Film Festival in Tokyo, was the cinematic analog of the experiments in extreme independent music happening in Japan at the same time, and would act as the incubator...
Metrograph presents Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Years, an electric showcase of restored early works from some of Japan’s boldest filmmakers, beginning December 2, 2022 at Metrograph in Theater.
At the same time that the Japanese studios were going into tailspin decline at the end of the 1970s, a rude burst of amateur cinematic anarchy was erupting from the underground. This new jishu eiga, or “autonomous film,” was a cinema by and for outsiders, many of them shooting run-and-gun-style in the streets on cheap 8mm film (hachimiri in Japanese). The jishu film movement, which found a home after 1977 at the Pia Film Festival in Tokyo, was the cinematic analog of the experiments in extreme independent music happening in Japan at the same time, and would act as the incubator...
- 11/23/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
A couple of years ago, Third Window Films released a rather crazy film, “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers” which was shot in 1985 but was considered lost. It seems though, that Macoto Tezka’s movie was not the only crazy one to have disappeared during the era, as Masashi Yamamoto also shot “What’s Up Connection” in 1990, a rare bilingual Japan-Hong Kong co-production, which is equally preposterous and also considered lost up until now. Thankfully, it has recently been restored from 35mm elements and has its international premiere in Fantasia.
“What’s Up Connection” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival
A family of poor swindlers that live in the slums of the secluded fishing village of Po Toi O, find one day that they have won multiple holiday prizes to travel abroad, in different Asian countries. The oldest son, teenager Chi Gau Shin ends up in Tokyo by way of Kamagasaki,...
“What’s Up Connection” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival
A family of poor swindlers that live in the slums of the secluded fishing village of Po Toi O, find one day that they have won multiple holiday prizes to travel abroad, in different Asian countries. The oldest son, teenager Chi Gau Shin ends up in Tokyo by way of Kamagasaki,...
- 7/30/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
What started as an alternative to the establishment, to the 9-to-5 work routine, the white picket fence and the routine of a monogamous marriage defined by traditional gender roles soon turned out to be a failed experiment, if we look at some communities which tried to make up their own society. Rather than constituting their own kind of community and trying their own experiment, many artists have approached these ideas through their work. Much like his colleagues, such as Seijun Suzuki or Nobuhiko Obayashi, director Masashi Yamamoto has created a niche for himself during his career, and also experimented with narration and form, with the goal of destroying a sense of unity in the feature film, as he once stated. In his 1988 effort “Robinson’s Garden”, the director combines these tendencies in his work with a story about one of those social experiments, about its rewards and how it can...
- 8/20/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: New York’s Japan Society has unveiled the full line-up for the 15th edition of Japan Cuts: Festival Of New Japanese Film, the largest celebration of Japanese cinema in North America.
Running August 20 – September, the hybrid online and in-theater event will welcome 27 features and 12 short films including 32 films available online throughout the U.S. and 14 screenings of eight films on the big screen in Japan Society’s auditorium.
The fest will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of Soushi Matsumoto’s sci-fi coming-of-age story It’s A Summer Film! The title will be presented online and in person.
Also in person will be the fest’s centrepiece presentation, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion-winning Wife of a Spy, a thriller tale of suspicion, betrayal and love set during WWII. The film’s star, Yu Aoi, will be the recipient of this year’s Cut Above Award from the Japan Society,...
Running August 20 – September, the hybrid online and in-theater event will welcome 27 features and 12 short films including 32 films available online throughout the U.S. and 14 screenings of eight films on the big screen in Japan Society’s auditorium.
The fest will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of Soushi Matsumoto’s sci-fi coming-of-age story It’s A Summer Film! The title will be presented online and in person.
Also in person will be the fest’s centrepiece presentation, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion-winning Wife of a Spy, a thriller tale of suspicion, betrayal and love set during WWII. The film’s star, Yu Aoi, will be the recipient of this year’s Cut Above Award from the Japan Society,...
- 7/20/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
“After the Sasaya family is forced to sell their luxury home, their daughter Akane invites her Twitter followers to a party. Soon the most eccentric characters storm their home for an unforgettable event. The most imaginative and quirky film of this year’s festival has it all: monstrous coffee beans, living statues, weddings, funerals and, of course, cats.” (Nippon Connection)
“Wonderful Paradise” is screening at Nippon Connection
The latest comedy film from director Masashi Yamamoto, presents itself as an escalating absurdist comedy. A format that Japan seems to have a natural knack for: from Sogo Ishii’s “Crazy Family” to Sion Sono’s “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” being hallmarks in absurdist humor that uses escalation to great success. Unfortunately, “Wonderful Paradise” stumbles over itself and falls flat.
Starting on a strong note, the production begins to suffer from overindulgence and gags with no room to let the punch...
“Wonderful Paradise” is screening at Nippon Connection
The latest comedy film from director Masashi Yamamoto, presents itself as an escalating absurdist comedy. A format that Japan seems to have a natural knack for: from Sogo Ishii’s “Crazy Family” to Sion Sono’s “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” being hallmarks in absurdist humor that uses escalation to great success. Unfortunately, “Wonderful Paradise” stumbles over itself and falls flat.
Starting on a strong note, the production begins to suffer from overindulgence and gags with no room to let the punch...
- 6/7/2021
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled much of its feature lineup including early highlights from several sidebars for this year’s online 25th edition, with the full program to be announced in July.
Fantasia’s preliminary lineup is highlighted by a glut of world and premieres including Edoardo Vitaletti’s “The Last Thing Mary Saw”; fest regular Richard Bates Jr.’s “King Knight”; Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth’s “Baby Money”; Canadian actor-turned-director Mark O’Brien’s debut “The Righteous”; “Hellbender” from John Adams, Toby Poser, and Zelda Adams; and the highly anticipated directorial debut of former Fantasia winning writer Travis Taute’s (“Number 37”) “Indemnity.”
Available to audiences across Canada, Fantasia will run Aug. 5-25 and present screenings, panels and workshops on its digital platform, hosted for the second year running by Festival Scope and Shift72. Event organizers are also closely monitoring the health and safety guidelines laid out by public officials in Montreal,...
Fantasia’s preliminary lineup is highlighted by a glut of world and premieres including Edoardo Vitaletti’s “The Last Thing Mary Saw”; fest regular Richard Bates Jr.’s “King Knight”; Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth’s “Baby Money”; Canadian actor-turned-director Mark O’Brien’s debut “The Righteous”; “Hellbender” from John Adams, Toby Poser, and Zelda Adams; and the highly anticipated directorial debut of former Fantasia winning writer Travis Taute’s (“Number 37”) “Indemnity.”
Available to audiences across Canada, Fantasia will run Aug. 5-25 and present screenings, panels and workshops on its digital platform, hosted for the second year running by Festival Scope and Shift72. Event organizers are also closely monitoring the health and safety guidelines laid out by public officials in Montreal,...
- 5/25/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the first wave of programming for its upcoming 25th edition, set again to take place as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada. The festival will run from August 5 – 25, 2021 and will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, Fantasia organizers will be following advice from local health authorities in Montreal with respect to the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events as well. In celebration of the key role that Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history, the festival’s 25th edition will be featuring an enhanced focus on Japanese cinema.
Following the earlier news of the festival’s opening film, the world premiere of Julien Knafo’s Quebec-set zomcom Brain Freeze starring Roy Dupuis and Iani Bédard,...
Following the earlier news of the festival’s opening film, the world premiere of Julien Knafo’s Quebec-set zomcom Brain Freeze starring Roy Dupuis and Iani Bédard,...
- 5/22/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
One of my favorite festivals is back with a virtual event taking place this August! The Fantasia International Film Festival has announced its first wave of programming, which includes a diverse slate of features and a special focus on Japanese cinema:
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the first wave of programming for its upcoming 25th edition, set again to take place as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada. The festival will run from August 5 - 25, 2021 and will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, Fantasia organizers will be following advice from local health authorities in Montreal with respect to the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events as well. In celebration of the key role that Japan...
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the first wave of programming for its upcoming 25th edition, set again to take place as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada. The festival will run from August 5 - 25, 2021 and will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, Fantasia organizers will be following advice from local health authorities in Montreal with respect to the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events as well. In celebration of the key role that Japan...
- 5/20/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
A parasitologist fighting a pandemic finds herself trapped in Tin Can Photo: Fantasia International Film Festival
Following the announcement last month that this year's Fantasia International Film Festival will open with Julien Knafo’s Brain Freeze, the first tranche of titles for the popular Montreal-based event has been revealed. They include Richard Bates' King Knight, which focuses on witchcraft in sunny California, and Mark O'Brien's The Righteous, which charts the impact of a stranger's arrival on a small Newfoundland community.
as usual, there are some treats in store for fans of Japanese cinema, including stylish sequel Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette, Masashi Yamamoto's inventively surreal Wonderful Paradise and Shunji Iwai’s tale of kaiju versus Covid, The 12 Day Tale Of The Monster That Died In 8. Spanish-Basque fable All The Moons brings a touch of class to the vampire genre and those who were seriously creeped out by Rainer Sarnet...
Following the announcement last month that this year's Fantasia International Film Festival will open with Julien Knafo’s Brain Freeze, the first tranche of titles for the popular Montreal-based event has been revealed. They include Richard Bates' King Knight, which focuses on witchcraft in sunny California, and Mark O'Brien's The Righteous, which charts the impact of a stranger's arrival on a small Newfoundland community.
as usual, there are some treats in store for fans of Japanese cinema, including stylish sequel Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette, Masashi Yamamoto's inventively surreal Wonderful Paradise and Shunji Iwai’s tale of kaiju versus Covid, The 12 Day Tale Of The Monster That Died In 8. Spanish-Basque fable All The Moons brings a touch of class to the vampire genre and those who were seriously creeped out by Rainer Sarnet...
- 5/19/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Canadian genre festival Fantasia has unveiled the first crop of titles that will screen at its 25th edition, which is set to take place virtually August 5-25.
As per last year, the event will run on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72 and will feature screenings, panels and workshops, available to audiences in Canada. Organizers continue to discuss with local authorities about the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events, they said.
This year’s edition will have an enhanced focus on Japanese cinema. Below, the first wave of confirmed titles is listed, with the full program announcement to follow in late July. As previously announced, Fantasia will open with Quebec-set zom-com Brain Freeze.
Fantasia 2021 titles:
The 12 Day Tale Of The Monster That Died In 8
Dir. Shunji Iwai
Japan
North American Premiere
Agnes
Dir. Mickey Reece
USA
International Premiere
All The Moons
Dir. Igor Legarreta
Spain...
As per last year, the event will run on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72 and will feature screenings, panels and workshops, available to audiences in Canada. Organizers continue to discuss with local authorities about the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events, they said.
This year’s edition will have an enhanced focus on Japanese cinema. Below, the first wave of confirmed titles is listed, with the full program announcement to follow in late July. As previously announced, Fantasia will open with Quebec-set zom-com Brain Freeze.
Fantasia 2021 titles:
The 12 Day Tale Of The Monster That Died In 8
Dir. Shunji Iwai
Japan
North American Premiere
Agnes
Dir. Mickey Reece
USA
International Premiere
All The Moons
Dir. Igor Legarreta
Spain...
- 5/19/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Organisers consulting with local Montreal authorities on possibility of limited range of physical events.
Top brass at Fantasia International Film Festival have announced the first wave of films including a focus on Japan for the virtual edition of the 25th anniversary festival that runs August 5-25.
The festival will screen for Canadian audiences on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. Organisers are taking advice from local health authorities in Montreal on the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events.
Japanese selections include Tsutomu Hanabusa’s manga adaptation Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette about a deadly school...
Top brass at Fantasia International Film Festival have announced the first wave of films including a focus on Japan for the virtual edition of the 25th anniversary festival that runs August 5-25.
The festival will screen for Canadian audiences on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. Organisers are taking advice from local health authorities in Montreal on the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events.
Japanese selections include Tsutomu Hanabusa’s manga adaptation Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette about a deadly school...
- 5/19/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The series includes I Am Sion Sono!!.
The Forum strand of the Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed its programme with a series of Special Screenings.
Artist Ulrike Ottinger’s 12-hour film Chamisso’s Shadow (Chamissos Schatten) opens this year’s Forum with a mammoth screening at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on Feb 12. At the end of the festival, it will be repeated in three separate parts at CineStar at Potsdamer Platz.
Under the title “Hachimiri Madness – Japanese Indies from the Punk Years”, the Forum is showing a series of newly digitised and subtitled Japanese 8-mm films from 1977 to 1990.
Many of the highest profile directors Japan has to offer today made their debut features in this format but very few of them have ever been shown internationally. The series was jointly curated by Keiko Araki (Pia Tokyo), Jacob Wong (Hong Kong Film Festival) and Christoph Terhechte (Berlinale Forum).
The series includes Sion Sono’s I am Sion...
The Forum strand of the Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed its programme with a series of Special Screenings.
Artist Ulrike Ottinger’s 12-hour film Chamisso’s Shadow (Chamissos Schatten) opens this year’s Forum with a mammoth screening at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on Feb 12. At the end of the festival, it will be repeated in three separate parts at CineStar at Potsdamer Platz.
Under the title “Hachimiri Madness – Japanese Indies from the Punk Years”, the Forum is showing a series of newly digitised and subtitled Japanese 8-mm films from 1977 to 1990.
Many of the highest profile directors Japan has to offer today made their debut features in this format but very few of them have ever been shown internationally. The series was jointly curated by Keiko Araki (Pia Tokyo), Jacob Wong (Hong Kong Film Festival) and Christoph Terhechte (Berlinale Forum).
The series includes Sion Sono’s I am Sion...
- 1/26/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
With today's announcement of a series of special screenings, the Berlinale Forum completes its lineup. There's be world premieres of Ulrike Ottinger's 12-hour Chamisso's Shadow, Serpil Turhan's portrait of Rudolf Thome and Dominik Graf and Johannes F. Sievert's Doomed Love - A Journey through German Genre Films. Then the program of "Japanese Indies from the Punk Years" will feature work by Sion Sono, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobuhiro Suwa, Katsuyuki Hirano, Macoto Tezka, Sogo Ishii, Shinobu Yaguchi, Masashi Yamamoto and Akira Ogata. » - David Hudson...
- 1/26/2016
- Keyframe
With today's announcement of a series of special screenings, the Berlinale Forum completes its lineup. There's be world premieres of Ulrike Ottinger's 12-hour Chamisso's Shadow, Serpil Turhan's portrait of Rudolf Thome and Dominik Graf and Johannes F. Sievert's Doomed Love - A Journey through German Genre Films. Then the program of "Japanese Indies from the Punk Years" will feature work by Sion Sono, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobuhiro Suwa, Katsuyuki Hirano, Macoto Tezka, Sogo Ishii, Shinobu Yaguchi, Masashi Yamamoto and Akira Ogata. » - David Hudson...
- 1/26/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
Experimental strand to open with Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room
The Berlinale (Feb 5-15) has unveiled the line-up for its 45th Forum strand, comprising 43 films in its main programme, of which 31 are world premieres and 10 international premieres.
The programme includes avant garde, experimental works, essays, long-term observations and political reportage.
Canadian director Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room will open this year’s programme. The film’s numerous plotlines are inspired by real, imaginary and photographic memories of films from the silent era, using a half-damaged nitrate print aesthetic in homage.
Films of the 45th Forum
Abaabi ba boda boda (The Boda Boda Thieves) by Yes! That’s Us,
Uganda / South Africa / Kenya / Germany - Wp
Al-wadi (The Valley) by Ghassan Salhab, Lebanon / France / Germany
Balikbayan #1 (Memories of Overdevelopment Redux) by Kidlat Tahimik, The Philippines - Wp
Beira-Mar (Seashore) by Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon, Brazil - Wp
Ben Zaken by Efrat Corem, Israel - IP[p...
The Berlinale (Feb 5-15) has unveiled the line-up for its 45th Forum strand, comprising 43 films in its main programme, of which 31 are world premieres and 10 international premieres.
The programme includes avant garde, experimental works, essays, long-term observations and political reportage.
Canadian director Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room will open this year’s programme. The film’s numerous plotlines are inspired by real, imaginary and photographic memories of films from the silent era, using a half-damaged nitrate print aesthetic in homage.
Films of the 45th Forum
Abaabi ba boda boda (The Boda Boda Thieves) by Yes! That’s Us,
Uganda / South Africa / Kenya / Germany - Wp
Al-wadi (The Valley) by Ghassan Salhab, Lebanon / France / Germany
Balikbayan #1 (Memories of Overdevelopment Redux) by Kidlat Tahimik, The Philippines - Wp
Beira-Mar (Seashore) by Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon, Brazil - Wp
Ben Zaken by Efrat Corem, Israel - IP[p...
- 1/15/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The official website for Three Points has been updated with a link to a trailer for the film on YouTube.
The film is separated into three parts all directed by Masashi Yamamoto (Junk Food, Man, Woman & the Wall), with segments set in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Okinawa. The Tokyo chapter features an odd love story starring Sola Aoi and Jun Murakami, The Kyoto chapter features a bunch of rappers, and the Okinawa chapter is an improvised documentary featuring various different people in succession.
The only plot information available is for the Tokyo chapter. Aoi plays a girl named Saki who’s saved from a street gang by a Tokyo drifter named Iga (Murakami). Iga gets hurt, but refuses to go to the hospital, so Saki lets him stay with her. After just one night, he disappears. However, one day Saki returns home and is surprised to find Iga has also returned…...
The film is separated into three parts all directed by Masashi Yamamoto (Junk Food, Man, Woman & the Wall), with segments set in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Okinawa. The Tokyo chapter features an odd love story starring Sola Aoi and Jun Murakami, The Kyoto chapter features a bunch of rappers, and the Okinawa chapter is an improvised documentary featuring various different people in succession.
The only plot information available is for the Tokyo chapter. Aoi plays a girl named Saki who’s saved from a street gang by a Tokyo drifter named Iga (Murakami). Iga gets hurt, but refuses to go to the hospital, so Saki lets him stay with her. After just one night, he disappears. However, one day Saki returns home and is surprised to find Iga has also returned…...
- 4/6/2011
- Nippon Cinema
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