Eigei Best Ten Worst Ten 2005

[Aaron Gerow]

My original query was whether the mainstream industry in Japan could 
devote attention to independent films (that is, one not distributed by 
the majors),through occasional award nods, or perhaps through 
institutions like Sundance (which is now essentially big business). It 
is still questionable whether the TIFF can do this. So I wonder if this 
underlines some of the inherent structural problems with the Japanese 
film industry.

> No idea whether or not you're serious, but it sounds like a fantastic
> (and amusing) idea to me!
>>
>>> One wonders if there can be an avenue for the industry to celebrate
>>> its indie cachet.
>>
>> Maybe Kinema Club should start one. The equivalent of the the Golden
>> Globes. The foreign press gets its say....mostly for its own fun.

Seriously, this would be something interesting to explore, especially 
since the industry, under government prodding, is thinking a bit more 
about the foreign market. Since there is no "Foreign Film Journalists 
Association" in Japan, it is not clear who would be umbrella 
organization for this. Kinema Club? Maybe, though for this to have any 
effect (and not just be a joke), it would have to have standards 
regarding who could vote, as well as means to publicize this. Perhaps 
the Midnight Eye people could sponsor this, getting in touch with the 
people who write for Variety, Le Monde and other organizations that 
have people who regularly review Japanese films. It could just be a 
poll like KineJun and Eigei, but it would be an alternative voice in 
the awards world.

Aaron Gerow
KineJapan owner

Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University

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