Odaiba for film events?

Mark Roberts mroberts37 at mail-central.com
Tue May 15 07:44:11 EDT 2012


Hi Eija,

My sense is that Odiba is a failed experiment in the evolution of Tokyo. It is an artificial island, convenient to just about nothing. No surprise that the plans for "Tokyo Teleport Town" in the early 90s never panned out.

The whole thing seems to be based upon 1930s-vintage ideas about the separation of urban life into discrete zones. Like a reheated version of the CIAM Athens Charter. Today, I think we can say that this is pretty clearly a failed concept in the history of urban planning.

So, Odaiba seems to work as a center for annual conventions and as a mega-mall consumption zone for families on the splurge, but I really doubt that many people are going out there on any regular basis. It's no coincidence that the alienated landscapes of films like Kore-eda's "Air Doll" and Kurosawa's "Retribution" are set in this area around Tokyo Bay.

Upshot: if you want your event to play to a smaller audience, go for Odaiba ;-)

Mark

On May 15, 2012, at 8:19 PM, Eija Niskanen wrote:

> Thanks Mark. How about, do you see any possibility for other film
> events to survive there, say a special film event, say X-.European
> coutnry film week, to get any audience there, for ex. at Mediage? I am
> asking this as the only film-related thing I have participated at
> Odaiba is Anime Fair, and I have never gone to see a film at local
> film theaters. I am involved in planning one such event, and Mediage
> theater in Odaiba has been suggested to us as one possible venue, and
> I find it a surprising suggestion. Maybe after 5 years, once people
> have got used to going to TIFF to Odaiba...
> 
> Eija
> 
> 2012/5/15 Mark Roberts <mroberts37 at mail-central.com>:
>> Depends which audience we're talking about.
>> 
>> Cinephiles probably won't welcome this move, but then they haven't really taken TIFF seriously for years now.
>> 
>> M
>> 
>> On May 15, 2012, at 6:48 PM, Eija Niskanen wrote:
>> 
>>> Just posting in relation to the growing use of Odaiba for film events.
>>> TIFF Market will be there the coming fall, and eventually the whole
>>> TIFF will move there - a move obvious in the light of the Roppongi
>>> theater venue capacity.
>>> 
>>> But will the audiences find there? Your opinions?
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Eija
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Eija Niskanen
> +358-50-355 3189
> +81-80-3479-8475



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