<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-4" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<STYLE>.hmmessage P {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
BODY.hmmessage {
FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 10pt
}
</STYLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19154"></HEAD>
<BODY class=hmmessage bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>A few words about Ushihara's 'The Ghost Cat and the
Mysterious Shamisen', <A name=director1930><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Kaibyò
nazo no shamisen</SPAN></A>, 1938 that is on this week at the ICA in
London. Not knowing anything about it until I saw it today, I had no idea
how strongly theatrical the film is. It's a play-within-a-play where the
boundaries get blurred. We start outside an Edo-period theatre and move
quickly in to the performance. It looked to me like proper kabuki - stage,
hanamachi, full orchestra, costumes, dance, etc. - except that this has starring
actresses (with actors). I interpret that - and I'm happy to be corrected
- as the same kind of liberties with period as contemporary Hollywood would have
made to get their stars into costume.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>But I don't think that seeming anachronism stops it
being a very important record of some extended theatrical performance, as well
as being a film with considerable merit - and no sentimental Ushihara
here.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>It was projected from DigiBeta from a NFC print
that showed the kind of degradation with which we are familiar for the period -
over-copied, with intermediate contrast lost. Just occasionally on fades
to black, you could pick up the finer detail that must have been there. I
wonder whether a digital restoration could find that again without pulling the
light and dark into grey mist? At any rate, you could see far more than
from the BFI print of another theatrical film of the same time 'Late
Chrysanthemum'. And 'Ghost Cat' was also far better translated than that
dreadful print.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>It's showing again on Thursday (by which time I had
planned to be in Vienna ...)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>I thought I'd mention the theatrical character of
the film as it doesn't seem to be picked up by anyone in the English literature,
or on this list when we've looked at treatments of theatre in Japanese
film.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Arial>Roger</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jasper_sharp@hotmail.com
href="mailto:jasper_sharp@hotmail.com">Jasper Sharp</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=kinejapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:kinejapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">kinejapan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 16, 2011 4:38
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> London's Zipangu Fest reveals
full programme: nuclear reactions, retro, animation and horror</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>Dear Kinejapanners,
<DIV>I hope you'll forgive the self-promotion, but the lineup for this year's
Zipangu Fest, to be held in London from 18-24 November, has just been
announced. </DIV>
<DIV>I look forward to seeing some of you there, if you can make it!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>best</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Jasper Sharp<BR>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"
class=Apple-style-span>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 582px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"
marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">
<CENTER>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" height="100%"
yle="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 100%; width: 602px; "
st!>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial" vAlign=top
align=middle>
<TABLE
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-TOP: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid"
border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial" vAlign=top
align=middle><BR></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD style="FONT: small arial; bo: collapse" vAlign=top align=middle
!>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial"
vAlign=top>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=20 width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial"
vAlign=top>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; LINE-HEIGHT: 21px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: rgb(80,80,80); FONT-SIZE: 14px">
<DIV><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18px"><B>ZIPANGU FEST
REVEALS FULL PROGRAMME: NUCLEAR <BR>REACTIONS,
RETRO, ANIMATION AND HORROR</B></SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><B>Japanese film festival to
screen timely environmental films and a rarely seen
1930s ghost story</B></SPAN><BR> <BR><B>Zipangu
Fest</B> is pleased to announce the full line up
of its 2011 programme. <BR><BR>In the aftermath
of this year's tragedy in north-east! ern Japan, the
issues surrounding nuclear energy have resurfaced
and <B>Zipangu Fest</B> will show two
documentaries on the subject. <B>Hitomi
Kamanaka</B>'s <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/ashes-to-honey"
target=_blank><B>Ashes to
Honey</B></A> and <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/rokkasho-rhapsody"
target=_blank><B>Rokkasho Rhapsody</B></A> will
be screened as part of the festival's <B>Nuclear
Reactions</B> programme, along with <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/events/2011/hiroshima-nagasaki-download-the-student-wrestler"
target=_blank><B>Hiroshima Nagasaki
Download</B></A> - a documentary road trip in
which two college friends interview atomic ! bomb
survivors living in North America.<BR><BR>On the same
theme, ;<B>Zipangu Fest</B> is proud to
present a rare screening of the 1959 docudrama <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/lucky-dragon-no5"
target=_blank><B>Lucky Dragon No. 5</B></A>. Directed
by one of post-war Japan's most important independent
film makers, <B>Kaneto Shindò</B>, the film tells
the story of the Bikini Atoll hydrogen bomb
catastrophe that exposed a Japanese fishing boat crew
to radioactive fallout. While this incident gave rise
to Japan's famous movie monster Godzilla, fewer people
know about Shindò's treatment of it.<BR><BR>Another
rare screening in the form of a 1930s ghost
story, <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/the-ghost-cat-and-the-mysterious-shamisen"
target=_blank><B>The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious
Shamisen</B></A>, will form part of the <B>Zipa!
ngu Retro</B> section. Subtitled especially
for <B>Zipangu Fest </B>and never seen
before in the UK, this 1938 gem is one of Japan's few
surviving pre-war horror films.<BR><BR>J-Horror meets
J-pop in <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/shirome"
target=_blank><B>Shirome</B></A>, a mockumentary that
involves director <B>Koji
Shiraishi</B> luring pre-pubescent idol band
Momoiro Clover into a supposedly haunted abandoned
school - the result lies somewhere between the Blair
Witch Project and the
X-Factor. <B>Shirome</B> is part of the
previously announced <B>Sounds of
Zipangu</B> section, which will open the festival
with the stunning new film <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/kanzeon"
target=_blank><B>KanZeOn</B></A>. A fictional
companion! piece to <B>KanZeOn</B>, <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/abraxas"
target=_blank><B>Abraxas</B></A><B>, </B>tells
the story of a punk musician turned Buddhist monk and
it was a surprise hit at the 2011 Sundance
Festival.<BR><BR><B>Zipangu Fest's </B><A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/beyond-anime-the-outer-limits"
target=_blank><B>Beyond Anime: The Outer
Limits</B></A> programme will present some of the
most interesting Japanese indie animations from recent
years, and in case you missed our previous
announcement - experimental films by <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/films/2011/enter-the-cosmos-takashi-makino-special"
target=_blank><B>Takashi Makino</B></A> and
others will be showcased at the ICA and at a <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest! .com/events/2011/nippon-re-read-radical-fragments-and-abstractions-from-japan-i-ii-cat-soup-feat-bo-ningen"
target=_blank>benefit night</A> at Dalston's Café
Oto.<BR><BR>Festival director and head programmer,
Jasper Sharp, comments: "This year's festival
presents a really interesting mix of old and new. I
think it is a far more robust line-up than anything
I've been involved in before, with all of the films
linked by a tone or a theme that I think will really
have audiences coming away thinking about Japanese
cinema in a different way."<BR><BR>The
second <B>Zipangu Fest</B> - celebrating the
best of cutting edge and avant garde Japanese cinema -
will be held at London's Institute of Contemporary
Arts and Café Oto from November 18th to 24th, before
moving to venues around the UK. The festival will
showcase a selection of Japan's finest features,
documentaries, shorts, a! nimation and experimental
films.<BR><BR>For full details and descripti ons go
to: <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/"
target=_blank>http://zipangufest.com</A>.<BR><BR>For
further press information please contact:<BR>Sarah
Macdonald: <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="mailto:sarah@zipangufest.com"
target=_blank>sarah@zipangufest.com</A><BR>(0208 689
3824)<BR><BR></DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT
color=#505050><FONT size=2><SPAN><B>To receive timely
Zipangu</B></SPAN></FONT><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><FONT size=2> Fest
news, please subscribe to our press
list: </FONT> </SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><A
href="http://zipangufest.com/press/2011"
target=_blank>http://zipangufest.com/press/<WBR>2011</A> </SPAN></FONT></FONT><BR>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: 21px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: rgb(80,80,80); FONT-SIZE: 14px">-End!
s-</DIV> <BR><BR><B>Notes to
Editors</B><BR><BR><B>About Zipangu Fest</B><BR>The
first UK-wide festival devoted to Japanese film,
Zipangu Fest aims to demonstrate the many identities
of Japan by introducing works new and old by some of
the country's most exciting and revered talents. Last
year's inaugural festival took place at various venues
around London's East End before travelling to regional
events in Bristol, Leeds, Coventry,Nottingham and
Newcastle in the UK, and further afield to Tallinn in
Estonia<B>.</B><BR><BR><B>About Jasper
Sharp</B><BR>Jasper Sharp is a writer and curator
based in the UK. He co-edits the web site Midnight
Eye, the premier English language resource on Japanese
cinema, which he founded with Tom Mes in 2001. He is a
regular visitor to Japan, having lived in Tokyo
between 2001 and 2005, where he co-authored
the <I>Midnight Eye Guide to Japanese
Film</I> (Stonebridge Press, 2004). His
critically acclaimed study of the Japanese pink f! ilm
industry <I>Behind the Pink Curtain</I>, was
published by FAB Press in 2008, while his latest
work, <I>The Historical Dictionary of Japanese
Cinema</I> will be published by Scarecrow Press
later in 2011. His writing has appeared in numerous
anthologies and magazines across the world. He has
curated a number of high-profile seasons and
retrospectives at the British Film Institute, the
Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, as well as Austin
Fantastic Fest, Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival,
Wroclaw's New Horizons Festival, and the Thessaloniki
International Film Festival. He is the co-founder,
with Chris MaGee, of the Shinsedai New Generation
Japanese Cinema Festival in
Toronto.<BR> <BR><B>Links</B><BR>Institute of
Contemporary Arts: <A
href="http://www.ica.org.uk/30695/Seasons/Zipangu-Fest-2011.html"
target=_blank>http://www.ica.org.uk/30695/<WBR>Seasons/Zipangu-Fest-2011.html</A><BR>Zipangu
Fest <A
style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,153); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; text-decorati: underline"
href="http://zipangufest.com/"
target=_blank>http://zipangufest.com/</A><BR>Café
Oto: <A
href="http://cafeoto.co.uk/nippon-reread.shtm"
target=_blank>http://cafeoto.co.uk/nippon-<WBR>reread.shtm</A><BR><BR><BR><B>Friend
on Facebook:</B> <A
href="http://www.facebook.com/zipangufest"
target=_blank>http://www.facebook.com/<WBR>zipangufest</A><BR><B>Follow
on Twitter:</B> <A
href="http://twitter.com/#%21/zipangufest/"
target=_blank>http://twitter.com/#!/<WBR>zipangufest/</A><BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial" vAlign=top
align=middle>
<TABLE
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px"
border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width=600>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT: small arial"
vAlign=top><BR></TD></TR></T!
body></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><
/center>
<CENTER><BR>-- <IMG><BR></CENTER></DIV></DIV><FONT
color=#888888><BR></FONT></DIV><BR><BR
clear=all><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR><BR
clear=all><BR></DIV></DIV><FONT
color=#888888>-- <BR><BR></FONT></DIV><BR></DIV><BR><BR clear=all>
<DIV><BR></DIV>-- <BR><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN
style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; FONT-FAMILY: arial, sans-serif"><A
style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,204)" href="http://www.zipangufest.com"
target=_blank><IMG
src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zsfpSX9omWk/TfjEaTiR5fI/AAAAAAAAB8A/Ck_dycre4Ek/zipangu-fest-banner2011.png"></A></SPAN><BR><BR>Zipangu
Fest: Japanarchy in the UK<BR><A href="http://zipangufest.com/"
target=_blank>http://zipangufest.com/</A><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT>
<DIV><SPAN>Jasper Sharp, </SPAN><SPAN>writer & film
curator</SPAN></DIV><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A
href="h! ttp://jaspersharp.com/"
target=_blank>http://jaspersharp.com/</A><BR><BR>Midnight Eye: The Latest and
Best in Japanese Cinema<BR><A href="http://www.midnighteye.com"
target=_blank>http://www.midnighteye.com</A><BR><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT></SPAN><BR>Jasper
Sharp: Writer & Film Curator
Homepage<BR>http://jaspersharp.com/<BR><BR>Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best
in Japanese Cinema<BR>http://www.midnighteye.com<BR><BR>Zipangu Fest:
Japanarchy in the
UK<BR>http://zipangufest.com/<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></CENTER></BODY></HTML>