Event: London, Feb 5th, Comic Proportions

[J.sharp]

Full Details: http://www.jpf.org.uk/whatson.html#1

ICA FILM SEASON
3 - 9 February, 2006
COMIC PROPORTIONS
Japanese Films Adapted from Manga

Not just for kids and a very significant part of the country?s subculture,
Japanese comics (manga) have increasingly become a source of inspiration for
Japanese filmmakers, particularly of the younger generation. The result is a
new wave of cinema bursting with visual invention and exciting ideas as
directors break down and reconstruct images and stories already created by
artists in another medium. This touring programme represents a handful of
examples of live-action manga, a selection which ranges widely across style
and genre but which is united by a guarantee of extravagant entertainment.

5 Feb, 3pm; 6 Feb, 6.30pm
CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL
Based on a hit series by Eiji Nonaka that parodies the juvenile delinquent
manga of the 1970s, Cromartie High School was also an animated series before
it became a live-action film. This absurd, far-flung comedy follows the
misadventures of Takashi Kamiyama, an idealistic student who finds himself
in the high school from Hell. Creating a Global Defense Team with other
outsider students, Takashi sets out to clean up the school and then save the
world. Drug traffickers, aliens, robot students and a 400-pound gorilla are
just some of the obstacles

Dir Yudai Yamaguchi
Japan 2005, 85 mins, subtitles
*Director Yudai Yamaguchi will introduce both screenings.
*5 Feb screening available as a joint ticket with Special Event Seminar.

5 Feb, 4.45pm
COMIC PROPORTIONS SPECIAL EVENT SEMINAR
CROSSING BOUNDARIES:
JAPANESE FILMS ADAPTED FROM JAPANESE MANGA
Invited experts on Japanese cinema and comics will discuss the degree of
influence that manga has had on Japanese society, how manga and cinema have
become interconnected, and how the films have been received by audiences and
manga artists. The panellists for this unique event are Yudai Yamaguchi 
(Director of Cromartie High School), Jasper Sharp (Midnight Eye, adviser on
Comic Proportions season), Yoko Ono  (Lecturer, Japanese Film Studies,
Oxford Brooks University) and Paul Gravett (Japanese comic expert). Julian
Stringer, Lecturer at University of Nottingham, will act as Chair for the
afternoon.
*Tickets available at regular cinema price or as joint ticket with the 3pm
screening of Cromartie High School.


3 Feb, 8.45pm; 7 Feb, 6.30pm
MY HOUSE (BOKUNCHI)
A charming coming-of-age tale about two young brothers left to fend for
themselves in a rundown harbour town when their mother takes an extended
trip. An older sister, whom they?ve never met before, completes the family.
Adapted from Rieko Saibara?s manga this is a gentle comedy touched by
tragedy, as the trio of youngsters learn to survive by relying on their own
wits to negotiate the eccentric cast of characters living around them.
Dir Junji Sakamoto, Japan 2002, 115 mins, subtitles

4 Feb, 4pm; 8 Feb, 8.45pm
BLUE
A deep friendship between two students in an all-girls school becomes
something much deeper during the course of their summer vacation. Lead
performances from Ichikawa Mikako (who won Best Actress at the Moscow
International Film Festival) and Konishi Manami help bring the popular
artistic manga by Kiriko Nananan to mysterious, romantic life.
Dir Ando Hiroshi, Japan 2003, 116 mins, subtitles

4 Feb, 6.30pm
NOWHERE MAN
An eccentric comedy-drama about a down-on-his-luck comic-book artist who
turns his hand to selling shaped, polished rocks that he fishes from the
Tama River. Unfortunately his new career doesn?t take off as he?d hoped and
begins to cause tension at home, a situation not helped by the bizarre
characters he starts to befriend. Based on a cult manga by Yoshiharu Tsuge
and winner of the FIPRESCI prize at the 1991 Venice Film Festival.
Dir Naoto Takenaka, Japan 1991, 107 mins, subtitles

5 Feb, 6.45pm; 9 Feb, 8.45pm
FANCY DANCE
A real charmer about a young university student with his own rock band who
also happens to come from a long line of Buddhist priests. In order to
continue the family tradition, he must spend a year as a novice monk and
live a new ascetic life in a mountain temple. However, once there he
discovers that the monks around him all have their own secret lives. Broad
laughs mix with a genuine feel for spiritual life in this popular comedy.
Dir Masayuki Suo, Japan 1990, 101 mins, subtitles


Comic Proportions screens at the following venues across the UK during
February:

ICA (London)
Edinburgh Filmhouse (Edinburgh)
Cornerhouse (Manchester)
Showroom (Sheffiled)
Watershed (Bristol)

A Japan Foundation Touring Programme
This film season is produced with advice from Jasper Sharp, independent
programmer

Further press information: Emma Pettit, ICA Press Office, 020 7766 1406 /
emmap at ica.org.uk



--
Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema
www.midnighteye.com

===

Available now in bookstores everywhere:
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (Stone Bridge Press)
by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
http://www.midnighteye.com/features/midnighteye_guide.shtml
"Easily one of the most important books on Japanese cinema ever released in
English."
- Newtype USA




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