<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Co-incidentally screening Japanese experimental
cinema to English language audiences came up as a topic when I was meeting
a number of artist film and video /experimental programmers on a recent
trip to the UK. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Like me, they were programmers who knew
something - or more - about Japanese experimental cinema tradition and
current practice and would be more than keen to present Japanese work their
programming. Most are professionals who are sensitive to getting the screening
technically and aesthetically right and willing to pay what it costs (although
not always in a position to fund film-maker's trip to present the work,
which is an issue for some practitioners).</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">However I heard persistent frustration
with the non-responsiviness of approaches to distributors. I'm afraid Image
Forum was a particular target. Mutual language issues are acknowledge,
as is the need to do the leg work of getting to Japan regularly and building
the contacts and some of the mutual respect that a few members of this
listserv have been able to cultivate over the years. And there are a few
great and beautiful exceptions amongst Japanese distributors who are very
keen to help.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">But compared to Korea and Thailand (for
example), where from experience distributors and film-makers are often
very keen to get their work out, regular programming Japanese experimental
cinema is much harder because of what seems like a lack of enthusiasm at
the other end. It's a familiar cry from programmers not just in this sector,
but from all of us wanting to promote Japanese cinema: "If only they
would answer their emails..!". </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Quentin Turnour, Programmer, <br>
Access, Research and Development<br>
National Film and Sound Archive, Australia<br>
McCoy Circuit, Acton, <br>
ACT, 2601 AUSTRALIA<br>
phone: +61 2 6248 2054 | fax: + 61 2 6249 8159<br>
www.nfsa.gov.au<br>
<br>
The National Film and Sound Archive collects, preserves and provides access
to Australia's historic and contemporary moving image and recorded sound
culture. <br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<table width=100%>
<tr valign=top>
<td width=40%><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><b>Martin Vieillot <eigagogo@free.fr></b>
</font>
<br><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Sent by: owner-KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</font>
<p><font size=1 face="sans-serif">09/07/2010 11:51 AM</font>
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<div align=center><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Please respond to<br>
KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</font></div></table>
<br>
<td width=59%>
<table width=100%>
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<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">To</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</font>
<tr valign=top>
<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">cc</font></div>
<td>
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<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Re: Film Comment poll</font></table>
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<td></table>
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<br>
<br><tt><font size=2>Thanks Markus for the info... pretty interesting list!<br>
<br>
For those who doesn't know anything about asian avant-garde, would it be
possible to get few names from others interesting "non-english speaking"
japanese artists? Only saw Daichi Saito works, and infos are rather difficult
to get (except maybe for Image Forum releases, and only when they are willing
to collaborate in spreading knowledge about theirs works..)<br>
<br>
>From a more general point of view, is there a "critic gap"
between experimental film & experimental animated film fields? It's
pretty surprising not to see Virgil Widrich's Fast Film quoted in this
list!!!<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
----- Mail Original -----<br>
De: "Markus Nornes" <amnornes@umich.edu><br>
À: KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu<br>
Envoyé: Jeudi 8 Juillet 2010 22h32:18 GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Berne
/ Rome / Stockholm / Vienne<br>
Objet: Film Comment poll<br>
<br>
Polls are strange things. If you know anything about Asian avant-garde,
you know this is a somewhat twisted list. First of all, not a single Japanese
experimental filmmaker listed in the best of the last decade or the "top
50 filmmakers." I can't decide if I'm surprised or not.<br>
<br>
On the other hand, there are three Japanese filmmakers listed as "filmmakers
for the 21st century": Kano Shiho, Saito Daichi (#3!), and Nishikawa
Tomonari (#1!!). All three are quite good, but the reasons these three
above all others are selected is obvious. Kano somehow found some serious
fans among the Canadian experimental crowd some years back and spread out
from there. Saito and Nishikawa are living in North America and, more importantly,
speak English. Kano can't really speak English, so she needed her programmer
friends; this might explain why she was selected over so many other Japanese
filmmakers who are at least as good or probably better. I also got to meet
Saito and Nishikawa at Ann Arbor FF this year; they seem honestly interested
in helping to get more Asian avant-garde work into the North American conversation—but
I have to say it was rather shocking how little they actually knew about
what was going on there (I noticed that elsewhere on the FC announcement
Saito was listed as Canadian, and actually it's pretty appropriate whatever
his nationality actually is.)<br>
<br>
Lincoln Center is apparently showing a selection of a lot of this work.
<br>
<br>
Markus<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
May/June 2010<br>
<br>
AVANT-GARDE POLL<br>
<br>
In the past decade, the making and showing of experimental film worldwide
has gone from strength to strength, so much so that it can be categorically
said that avant-garde cinema is as vital now as it has ever been. This
addendum to our Jan/Feb end-of-decade wrap-up serves to acknowledge just
some of the experimental film achievements of the 21st century’s first
10 years. The rankings on the three lists below were obtained through the
tabulation of the number of mentions a given film or filmmaker received
in poll responses from a 46-strong group of critics, programmers, and teachers.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
BEST AVANT-GARDE FILMS & VIDEO 2000-2009<br>
<br>
1. At Sea Peter Hutton, U.S., 2007 (18)<br>
2. Pitcher of Colored Light Robert Beavers, U.S./Switz., 2007 (16)<br>
3. ( ) Morgan Fisher, U.S., 2003 (15)<br>
tie Ah Liberty! Ben Rivers, U.K., 2008 (15)<br>
tie Observando el Cielo Jeanne Liotta, U.S., 2007 (15)<br>
tie Star Spangled to Death Ken Jacobs, U.S., 2004 (15)<br>
7. Ten Skies James Benning, U.S., 2004 (14)<br>
8. The Fourth Watch Janie Geiser, U.S., 2000 (13)<br>
tie The Heart of the World Guy Maddin, Canada, 2000 (13)<br>
tie RR James Benning, U.S., 2007 (13)<br>
11. Black and White Trypps Number Three Ben Russell, U.S., 2007 (12)<br>
tie The Decay of Fiction Pat O’Neill, U.S., 2002 (12)<br>
tie The God of Day Had Gone Down Upon Him Stan Brakhage, U.S., 2000 (12)<br>
tie An Injury to One Travis Wilkerson, U.S., 2002 (12)<br>
tie Kolkata Mark LaPore, US/India, 2005 (12)<br>
tie 13 Lakes James Benning, U.S., 2004 (12)<br>
17. The General Returns from One Place to Another Michael Robinson, U.S.,
2006 (11)<br>
tie Song and Solitude Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2006 (11)<br>
19. False Aging Lewis Klahr, U.S., 2008 (10)<br>
tie The Glass System Mark LaPore, U.S., 2000 (10)<br>
tie Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine Peter Tscherkassky, Austria,
2005 (10)<br>
tie A Letter to Uncle Boonmee Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand, 2009
(10)<br>
tie She Puppet Peggy Ahwesh, U.S., 2001 (10)<br>
tie Skagafjördur Peter Hutton, U.S./Iceland, 2004 (10)<br>
25. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty Jonas
Mekas, U.S., 2000 (9)<br>
tie The Great Art of Knowing David Gatten, U.S., 2004 (9)<br>
tie The Ground Robert Beavers, U.S., 1993-2001 (9)<br>
tie The Hedge Theater Robert Beavers, U.S./Switzerland, 2002 (9)<br>
tie Poetry and Truth Peter Kubelka, Austria, 2003 (9)<br>
tie Sarabande Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2008 (9)<br>
tie The Visitation Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2002 (9) <br>
tie When It Was Blue Jennifer Reeves, U.S./Iceland, 2008 (9)<br>
33. Arbor Vitae Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2000 (8)<br>
tie In Comparison Harun Farocki, Germany/Austria, 2009 (8) <br>
tie It’s Not My Memory of It – Three Recollected Documents The Speculative
Archive, U.S., 2003 (8)<br>
tie Meditations on Revolution, Part V: Foreign City Robert Fenz, U.S.,
2003 (8) <br>
tie Nest of Tens Miranda July, U.S., 2000 (8)<br>
tie O’er the Land Deborah Stratman, U.S., 2009 (8)<br>
tie Psalm III: Night of the Meek Phil Solomon, U.S., 2002 (8)<br>
tie Winter Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2008 (8)<br>
41. California Trilogy: Los, Sogobi, El Valley Centro James Benning, U.S.,
2000-01 (7)<br>
tie *Corpus Callosum Michael Snow, Canada, 2002 (7)<br>
tie Dream Work (for Man Ray) Peter Tscherkassky, Austria, 2001 (7)<br>
tie Horizontal Boundaries Pat O’Neill, U.S., 2008 (7)<br>
tie Let Each One Go Where He May Ben Russell, U.S./Suriname, 2009 (7)<br>
tie Still Raining, Still Dreaming Phil Solomon, U.S., 2009 (7)<br>
tie The Two Minutes to Zero Trilogy Lewis Klahr, U.S., 2003-04 (7)<br>
tie What the Water Said, nos. 4-6 David Gatten, U.S., 2007 (7)<br>
<br>
<br>
TOP 50 FILMMAKERS<br>
<br>
1. Nathaniel Dorsky (54)<br>
2. James Benning (49)<br>
3. Ken Jacobs (45)<br>
4. Lewis Klahr (41)<br>
5. Stan Brakhage (37) <br>
tie Phil Solomon (37) <br>
7. Robert Beavers (35) <br>
8. David Gatten (32) <br>
tie Peter Hutton (32) <br>
10. Michael Robinson (30) <br>
11. Ernie Gehr (29) <br>
tie Ben Russell (29) <br>
13. Mark LaPore (27) <br>
14. Ben Rivers (24) <br>
15. Janie Geiser (23) <br>
tie Jeanne Liotta (23) <br>
17. Luther Price (21) <br>
18. Jennifer Reeves (20) <br>
19. Pat O’Neill (19) <br>
20. Apichatpong Weerasethakul (18) <br>
21. Peggy Ahwesh (17) <br>
tie Stephanie Barber (17) <br>
tie Vincent Grenier (17) <br>
tie Jim Jennings (17) <br>
tie Peter Tscherkassky (17) <br>
tie Fred Worden (17) <br>
27. Guy Maddin (16) <br>
tie Bruce McClure (16) <br>
tie Julie Murray (16) <br>
30. Morgan Fisher (15) <br>
31. Scott Stark (14) <br>
tie Deborah Stratman (14) <br>
tie Travis Wilkerson (14) <br>
34. Harun Farocki (13) <br>
tie Jonas Mekas (13) <br>
36. Bruce Conner (12) <br>
tie Robert Fenz (12) <br>
tie Michael Snow (12) <br>
tie Leslie Thornton (12) <br>
40. Heinz Emigholz (11) <br>
tie Miranda July (11) <br>
42. Eve Heller (10) <br>
tie Michele Smith (10) <br>
tie The Speculative Archive (10) <br>
45. Jacqueline Goss (9) <br>
tie Nicky Hamlyn (9) <br>
tie Peter Kubelka (9) <br>
tie Sharon Lockhart (9) <br>
tie Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet (9) <br>
tie Jim Trainor (9) <br>
<br>
<br>
25 FILMMAKERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY<br>
(emerging artists beyond the top 50)<br>
<br>
1. Tomonari Nishikawa (23)<br>
2. Jim Finn (15)<br>
3. Daichi Saito (13)<br>
4. Luis Recoder & Sandra Gibson (11)<br>
tie Alexandra Cuesta (11)<br>
tie Kevin J. Everson (11)<br>
tie Laida Lertxundi (11) <br>
8. Shiho Kano (10)<br>
tie Vanessa O’Neill (10)<br>
10. Paul Chan (9)<br>
tie Paul Clipson (9)<br>
tie Emily Richardson (9)<br>
tie Sylvia Schedelbauer (9)<br>
14. Minyong Jang (8)<br>
tie Hannes Schüpbach (8)<br>
tie Fern Silva (8)<br>
tie Gretchen Skogerson (8)<br>
tie Ryan Trecartin (8)<br>
tie Soon Mi Yoo (8)<br>
20. Bobby Abate (7)<br>
tie Chris Kennedy (7)<br>
tie Andrew Lampert (7)<br>
tie Matt McCormick (7)<br>
tie Rebecca Meyers (7)<br>
tie Jonathan Schwartz (7)<br>
<br>
<br>
Poll participants: Acquarello, Steve Anker, Thomas Beard, Ariella Ben-Dov,
Amy Beste, Robin Blaetz, Nicole Brenez, Autumn Campbell, Fred Camper, Abigail
Child, David Dinnell, Patrick Friel, David Gatten, Jacqueline Goss, Ed
Halter, Alexander Horwath, Kristin M. Jones, Chris Kennedy, Nellie Killian,
Lewis Klahr, Irina Leimbacher, Scott MacDonald, Matt McCormick, Mark McElhatten,
Kevin McGarry, Don McMahon, Olaf Möller, Oona Mosna, Pablo de Ocampo, Susan
Oxtoby, Andréa Picard, Tony Pipolo, Steve Polta, J.R. Rigsby, Jeremy Rossen,
Lynne Sachs, Keith Sanborn, Michael Sicinski, Josh Siegel, P. Adams Sitney,
Gavin Smith, Phil Solomon, Scott Stark, Chris Stults, Jim Supanick, Genevieve
Yue <br>
<br>
© 2010 by the Film Society of Lincoln Center<br>
</font></tt>
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