[KineJapan] Mini theatres and independent movies

Tue Apr 19 14:12:54 EDT 2022

Hi Matteo,

In the late 1970s the Shinbungeiza in Ikebukuro co-funded some jishu films (basically, but not quite accurately, “amateur” films), as did some other theaters in Tokyo that (usually) wouldn’t strictly qualify as arthouse theaters.
In the 1980s many minitheaters teamed up with video distribution companies to purchase foreign films’ full-package rights for Japan; that way the minitheater could afford the exclusive rights for screenings, and the video company would get the distribution rights for home video (with the added bonus of pre-advertising via the minitheater run). Since many of the films purchased in this way relied heavily on pre-sales to finance the production of the film you could say that the minitheaters in some way contributed to their production, though they didn’t really “make” the film.
In the 1990s and 2000s a number of small theater chains were involved in film production, often (but not always) via the production committee system; Theatre Shinjuku’s parent company is one of these.
This is a fascinating history, thanks for kicking off this thread-
Alex

-------------------------------
Alexander Zahlten
Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Chair, Regional Studies East Asia (RSEA) Program
Harvard University
(He / him / his)

From: KineJapan <kinejapan-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Rea Amit via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 10:22
To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Cc: Rea Amit <reavolution at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Mini theatres and independent movies
I believe Jennifer Coates has done some work on a theater in Kyoto that participated in documentary film production. You might want to check more information with her.

Best of luck,
Rea

On Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 7:28 AM Markus Nornes via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>> wrote:
This is an interesting question. I look forward to hearing what people can think of.

A few things come to mind. There are mini-theater operators who were making films alongside their work in exhibition. Daishima Haruhiko was producing Pineapple Tours (currently in revival) when he was running Box Higashi Nakano, and the guy that owned (?) it was a photographer who also made a few documentaries (Hashiguchi? Can't quite remember his name off-hand).

Before that, I think you could think of ATG as a kind of precursor, no?

And before that, Jieiso—the outfit behind pre-1968 Ogawa films—was specifically creating an interface between exhibition and production that directly led to the establishment of many of the first mini-theaters (an example is the Forum in Yamagata).

Just off the top of my head.....

Markus

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Markus Nornes
Professor of Asian Cinema
Interim Chair, Dept. of Asian Languages and Culture
Department of Film, Television and Media, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design

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On Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 6:56 AM matteoB via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>> wrote:
Dear All,

Researching about how Haneda Sumiko's Ode to Mt Hayachine came into being, that is through the help and support of Equipe de Cinema, Iwanami Hall, and Takano Etsuko, made me wonder whether there are other examples of Japanese independent cinemas or mini theatres helping a movie being produced.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

Matteo

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