[KineJapan] RIP Roger Macy

[Johan Nordstrom]

Dear All,

I was also greatly saddened by Roger’s passing. He always used to be in the
audience at the programs that Alex and I curate for Il Cinema Ritrovato,
coming up afterwards to ask insightful questions, and offer comments and
feedback on the films and the program strand. When he didn’t show up this
year I feared the worst, and when Alex and I reached out to him later his
son confirmed the seriousness of his health situation.


The community feels greatly diminished with him gone. I have many fond
memories of discussing Japanese cinema over lunch or dinner in Italy, over
tonkatsu in Tokyo, and I was always amazed at the intensity of his passion
for Japanese film, and his ability to seek out and discover bits of unknown
film history in the most unlikely places. Last we spoke about research, he
was still digging around to find out how the Kaguya-hime print ended up in
the UK, his (at the time) most recent hypothesis being that the print had
gone with members of the imperial household on a diplomatic mission to the
UK, as the date of the film’s arrival lined up with the dates of the
diplomatic mission.


Another fond memory is when he told me in Bologna that he had just got back
from Ukraine, one year after Russia’s full scale invasion had started.
Smiling he told me that he had been in need of dental surgery, and that he
had wanted to support the Ukrainian economy.


I will very much miss his company, sharp insights, and passion.


Very best,

Johan

On Mon, Oct 27, 2025 at 3:02 AM Miyao, Daisuke via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I miss Roger a lot. Whenever film festivals have focuses on Japanese
> cinema, he was there - with his eyes filled with curiosity and affection.
>
> As a tribute to Roger, let me share his September 2020 email to me and
> Mariann of Il Cinema Ritrovato. (I hope Mariann doesn't mind!) Roger was
> the only one who pointed this out to me. This email showcases how attentive
> Roger was to the details in the history of cinema and was eager to find out
> about nuances in it!
>
>
> As for the cover image, the one on my book is directly obtained from
> Institut Lumière. It is the official screen grab from *Panorama pendant
> l’ascension de la tour Eiffel* (1897 or 1898, camera operator unknown).
> James White's film on la tour Eiffel is viewable in the LOC website. The
> film has a slightly different camera angle.
> https://www.loc.gov/item/00694299
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.loc.gov/item/00694299__;!!Mih3wA!UmBj_XyH1MDqxqY4iWPA88tIQnDbbf_o6JhtSbto0yeJguD3xi1R__hC3l_LHXY$>
>
>
> I wish I had been in the Teatro Communale di Bologna with Roger in 2020
> to solve this mystery!
>
> Best,
> Daisuke
>
> Daisuke Miyao
> Professor and Hajime Mori Chair in Japanese Language and Literature
> Chair, Department of Literature
> University of California, San Diego
> ***I respectfully acknowledge that UCSD is located on the unceded
> territory of the Kumeyaay Nation.***
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Roger Macy <macyroger at yahoo.co.uk>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 8, 2020 10:04 AM
> *To:* mstraeuli at bluewin.ch <mstraeuli at bluewin.ch>; Miyao, Daisuke <
> dmiyao at ucsd.edu>
> *Subject:* Eiffel tower / tour Eiffel frame
>
>
> Dear Mariann and Daisuke,
>
> Semai sekai desu ne !
>
> The book on my desk that I am still working on, the catalogue of Il Cinema
> Ritrovato 2020 was joined by today’s post by Daisuke’s ‘Japonisme and the
> Birth of Cinema’.
>
> The book and the festival section, ‘ Century of Cinema: 1900’ both share
> exactly the same cover photograph, indeed the same frame of the same film
> (see attached photo).  So far, so beautiful, but there is a problem.  The
> film that Daisuke describes vividly in his book, including that frame, is
> undoubtedly that which I saw in the Teatro Communale di Bologna on 26th August.
> But Daisuke describes it as ‘*Panorama pendant l’ascension de la tour
> Eiffel* (1897 or 1898, Auguste and Louis Lumière (camera operator
> unknown)’; and Mariann and the festival catalogue describes as ‘Scene from
> the Elevator Ascending the Eiffel Tower, USA, 1900, James H. White, Edison
> – from CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image aimée’ and “”I have
> (apart from smuggling in a panorama by a visiting Edison cameraman) ...”
> https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/proiezione/una-seance-al-cinematographe-geant/
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/proiezione/una-seance-al-cinematographe-geant/__;!!Mih3wA!WcWj7RP-BM3LV9WtxUGulzY8duWPXjzvrC1SD8v28liNcpLq2xu3u8p9EvJqUiQ$>
>  .
>
> I don’t see how you can both be right.
>
> I’m sorry, if I’m the umpteenth person to raise this. I am not copying
> anyone else.
>
> Sincere regards,
>
> Roger
> _______________________________________________
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> KineJapan at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/kinejapan
>
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