Self-Introduction and Request

[Mark Nornes]

Richard,

You're going to find this both easy and challenging. On the easy side, 
once you make a few contacts you'll discover that everyone will be 
enthusiastic about helping you. It's hard to see a lot of this work, 
but if you are talking to people, interviewing them, getting to know 
them, then you'll find filmmakers quite willing to sit down for a day 
and show you everything they've ever done.

Your Anthology connection should open many doors (get letters of 
introduction  [or a general letter of support]  from Mekas if you can; 
he's God of the Avant-Garde over there). Clearly the first place to go 
is Image Forum, and you can branch out from there.

This is a topic that's been sitting there for treatment. Japan has had 
such a vibrant experimental scene (in film and video and installation), 
and has those concrete ties to New York with people like Iimura, Ono, 
Oe and others.

(Personally, I hope you include the prewar era as well.)

Good luck,

Markus