"neo-benshi live film narration"

Jonathan M. Hall jmhall
Fri Sep 7 04:45:51 EDT 2007


Dear KineJapanners,

As people in LA know already, REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney Cal  
Arts Theatre) is one of the best sites in the region for cutting-edge  
performance and experimental media, and of course, it regularly  
offers  lot of great independent and experimental cinema.  REDCATjust  
announced its Fall lineup, its Fifth Season, and the following "neo- 
neshi live film narration" might be of interest to listmembers.  I'd  
love to see what kind of benshi work there is for Vive l'amour, Tsai  
Ming Liang's film, which has, I believe, about 50 lines of dialogue  
( ...not that the traditional benshi was limited to dialogue, I  
know ...)

The line-up includes a really wonderful series of experimental and  
independent Chinese work, a tribute to Harry Smith, and performance  
by Ikue Mori, so please check out the full calendar via the website  
(listed below).

Yours,
Jonathan



-----
Jonathan M. Hall
Japanese Film, Media, and Modern Literature
Assistant Professor, Comparative Literature / Film & Media Studies

320 Humanities Instructional Building
UC Irvine, Irvine CA 92697-2651 USA
office: 1-949-824-9778
fax: 1-949-824-1992

Co-Chair, Queer Caucus, Society for Cinema and Media Studies



>
>       Mon Dec 3 | 8 pm
>         Jack H. Skirball Screening Series
>
> The Cinema Cabaret
> neo-benshi live film narration
>
> Poets from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York gather at REDCAT  
> to offer a fresh take on the Japanese tradition of ?benshi??a  
> writer or actor who provides live narration and commentary  
> alongside silent films. The neo-benshi concept invites writers/ 
> performers to choose scenes from well-known narrative features or  
> TV shows, mute the soundtrack, and re-inscribe the familiar images  
> with new meanings. Relying mainly on language and sound, this  
> practice leads to a great variety of interventions that range from  
> hilarious deadpan ventriloquism to more trenchant re-readings of  
> the original material. The artists this evening perform live  
> redubbing of scenes from Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Kiss Me  
> Deadly (1955), Poison (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 1958), Vive  
> L?Amour (Ai qing wan sui, 1994), Uzumaki (2000), Minority Report  
> (2002) and other works.
>
> "Neo-Benshi at its best mashes up subversive written scripts, deft  
> acting, andacrobatic mind-eye coordination. ? Steve Dickison, Director
> The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University
>
> Curated and produced by Konrad Steiner and Jen Hofer with Nada  
> Gordon, Roxi Power Hamilton, Douglas Kearney, Eileen Myles,  
> Jennifer Nellis and Stephanie Young.
>
> $15 [students $12]
>
>
>
> REDCAT is located at 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 -  
> at the corner of 2nd and Hope Streets inside the Walt Disney  
> Concert Hall complex. Parking is available in the Walt Disney  
> Concert Hall parking structure and at adjacent lots.
>
> Tickets are $8 for the general public, $6 for students with valid  
> ID. Tickets
> may be purchased by calling 213.237.2800 or at www.redcat.org or in
> person at the REDCAT Box Office on the corner of 2nd and Hope Streets
> (30 minutes free parking with validation). Box Office Hours: Tue-Sat |
> noon?6 pm and two hours prior to curtain
>
> For more information, go to www.redcat.org
>
> The film/video program is curated by Steve Anker and B?r?nice Reynaud.
>
> As CalArts? downtown center for innovative visual, media and  
> performing arts, REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater,  
> introduces diverse audiences, students and artists to the most  
> influential developments in the arts from around the world, and  
> gives artists in the Los Angeles region the creative support they  
> need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT is a  
> center for experimentation, discovery and charged civic discourse.
>





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