[KineJapan] RIP Roger Macy

[Marcos Centeno]

Alex, thanks for letting us know , I am shocked to read the sad news about
Roger. He had become a recognisable figure of the Japanese cinema scene in
London, a tireless and enthusiastic cinephile, at one point he also was
interested in screening some reels of Ozu´s films at Birkbeck cinema and I
was even close to renting a place he had in the city. It's amazing to see
the extraordinary network of people he brought together around common
interests, and how he will be missed all across the world. Rest in peace...

Marcos

On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 at 13:56, adrian restorationasia.org via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:

> Dear Markus,
>
>
>
> Your posting prompted me to see what was the earliest post of Roger’s that
> survives in my email, it was from September, 2008 on the topic of *Film
> archive catalogues.*
>
>
>
> What the search also unearthed was an email I drafted in reply to a
> question from Roger which, until today, I never finished. This was from
> October, 2009 and I will, if only out of respect for our departed friend,
> send it shortly.
>
>
>
> It would also be remiss of me not to say that if it weren’t for a posting
> by Roger in 2021 regarding *Nippon*, my long journey researching the
> story of the film would never have come about nor would my collaboration on
> that research with Wayne Arnold, who Roger had posted on behalf. The third
> peer-reviewed article that I have supported Wayne on, based on our research
> into the film, is due for publication in the very near future.
>
>
>
> Roger will be sorely missed, but not forgotten.
>
>
>
> May he rest in peace.
>
>
>
> Adrian Wood
>
>
>
> *From:* KineJapan *On Behalf Of *Markus Nornes via KineJapan
> *Sent:* Monday, October 27, 2025 1:42 AM
> *To:* KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
> *Cc:* Markus Nornes <nornes at umich.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [KineJapan] RIP Roger Macy
>
>
>
> Oh Roger, Roger. I will miss you. I had no idea, so this came as quite a
> shock.
>
>
>
> Roger was one of a number of non-academic lovers of Japanese cinema that
> are key to our group’s vivaciousness and longevity. It’s what enables
> Kinema Club to minimize, if not rub out, the difference between scholars,
> critics, cineastes, fans or whatever boundaries that needlessly sort us all
> out. I dug into the KineJapan archives to figure out when Roger graced us
> with his virtual presence. It was (probably*) December 1st, 2007 and he was
> all Roger out of the gate.
>
>
>
> Yuna de Lannoy asked about Noh-inspired films from the fascist period and
> Roger makes his impressive first-appearance with the suggestion of Naruse’s *Uta
> andon* (1943). Damn! This was a year before Catherine Russell’s book came
> out, which makes it all the more impressive.
>
>
>
> He follows this up the same day with a call for help. How does one use the
> persnickety JMDb for a 1920s film even if you can't read *kanji? *In
> subsequent posts that December, it becomes clear why he asks:  he’s
> investigating the identity of a "J. Shige Sudzuky,” who wrote a 1929
> article in *Close-up*. He was archive diving and braving the language
> barrier long before Google translate.
>
>
>
> In those posts, he self-consciously refers to himself as a “bluffer” and
> writes, “I'm prepared to make a fool of myself again in order to learn
> something.” Roger was fearless. And it wasn’t long before he made himself
> at home in the Kinema Club community. Those self-conscious asides disappear
> as his posts turn from informational inquiries to analytical reviews of
> events and smart contributions to threads on films and filmmakers. And then
> he began showing up at Kinema Club events and his presence became
> indelible.
>
>
>
> I got to know him over the years from both his posts and through numerous
> encounters around the world. I even couch surfed his flat once. But Roger
> also kept his boundaries clean. He would talk glowingly of his family, but
> not himself. My curiosity tested his patience when I asked about the career
> that sustained his serious avocation in the Japanese cinema. I have my
> suspicions, but in deference to his cagey avoidance of the topic I’ll keep
> them to myself. Roger surely wants to be remembered for his wonderful
> contributions to the study and loving of Japanese cinema. Some of those are
> ephemeral, and mainly preserved in our memories which are fated to
> disappear. But thankfully, we will still have his formal writings for
> venues like *Midnight Eye *and *Senses of Cinema, * and his incisive and
> sometimes provocative contributions preserved in the KineJapan archive.
>
>
>
> Goodbye, Roger.
>
>
>
> Markus
>
>
>
> PS: Alex, of course you can share all this, and permission is unnecessary.
> KineJapan is a form of publication and it is archived
> <https://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/kinejapan/> and searchable.
>
>
>
> * The KineJapan archive is not perfect, so it might have been before this.
>


-- 

Dr. Centeno Martin, Marcos
*Profesor Titular */ Reader
Universitat de València.
https://www.uv.es/uvweb/college/en/profile-1285950309813.html?p2=cenmar&idA=

Máster en Estudios Japoneses y Coreanos
<https://postgrado.adeituv.es/es/cursos/arte_y_humanidades-9/estudios-japoneses-coreanos/datos_generales.htm>
.
JRC <https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/marcos-centeno>(Japan Research Centre),
SOAS, University of London. Research Associate.
PI  TRAMEVIC <http://www.uv.es/tramevic> (Transnational Memories in East
Asian Visual Culture)*. *Ref. CIGE/2023/066
*East Asian Journal of Popular Culture*. Co-editor in chief
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