[KineJapan] 10 Years Japan

Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan kinejapan at lists.osu.edu
Sat Dec 30 07:59:43 EST 2017


Markus
That's really exciting!
Thanks for letting us know.
Jeremy

Mabashi Movie Festival

On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 12:02 AM, Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via
KineJapan <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Last night was the bonenkai for Dokuritsu Eiga Nabe, a kind of guild for
> independent filmmakers and collaborators (producers, writers, PR people,
> subtitles, programmers, etc.) that has been very active over the past
> years. I had an interesting conversation with one young director. He is one
> of 5 directors participating in the Japanese version of 10 Years currently
> being produced by Jason Gray and executive produced by Kore-eda (I heard he
> was quite involved, so it’s not a in name only credit). There are parallel
> projects in Taiwan and Thailand.
>
> This a multinational project borrowing the format set by 10 Years, the
> Hong Kong indie film from 2015. This was an omnibus film by five young
> directors who are committed to Hong Kong identity, politics, and film
> culture. The film imagined what Hong Kong will be like 10 years down the
> road. Resolutely anti-PRC, the film has the badge of honor of shutting down
> the mainland broadcast of the Hong Kong Film Awards, since it was nominated
> (and won) Best Film. I think it’s hard to say it was the best film made
> that year, so this is a good indication of the film’s
> in-the-face-of-the-PRC politics. Although being cut out of distribution
> through the major chains after a big opening, it then packed cultural halls
> and university screenings. Last time I was in Hong Kong, it came up in
> nearly every conversation. No one seemed to like it, but everyone was happy
> and impressed that it was produced and found an audience.
>
> At any rate, I thought making versions of the film in other countries was
> very interesting idea. But it never occurred to me until last night’s
> conversation that it will be fascinating to see how the young Japanese
> directors situate themselves in relation to contemporary politics and
> social issues. This director is imagining what AI will be like in a decade,
> but he also never really thought of his story as overtly political. But
> “overt politics” is the essence of the format they are borrowing from Hong
> Kong. In a country where so many people are pointing to Abe’s politics as
> protofascist, the format would seem to invite a film that imagines a
> full-blown fascism; indeed, the Hong Kong film imagined a Hong Kong overrun
> by mainland bigots, language police, and Cultural Revolution-like gangs of
> kids. The Hong Kong filmmakers were making and showing their film in the
> context of the umbrella revolution; I continue to find young Japanese
> filmmakers identifying politics with Zenkyoto, effectively handicapping
> them as artists. I look forward to seeing how these filmmakers envision
> their country’s future.
>
> Markus
> --
> ---
>
> *Markus Nornes*
> *Professor of Asian Cinema*
> Department of Screen Arts and Cultures, Department of Asian Languages and
> Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design
>
> *Department of Screen Arts and Cultures*
> *6348 North Quad*
> *105 S. State Street*
> *Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*
>
>
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