FIAF 2007 TOKYO [ 63rd FIAF Congress ] Screenings

Renew:03/28/07

Special Public Screening
Sunday, April 8, 18:45-21:00 at Yurakucho Asahi Hall
(11th floor of Yurakucho Mullion Building, 15-minute walk from NFC Headquarters)

KURUTTA IPPEIJI
(A Page of Madness/A Disordered Page)Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa (1926, b/w, silent, 35mm, 79 minutes [18 fps], 1:1.33 [full-frame]);With piano accompaniment by Yuji Takahashi;Preserved and restored by National Film Center, Tokyo;
Lab work done by IMAGICA West Corp, Osaka.

Co-organized by The Asahi Shimbun Company in collaboration with IMAGICA West Corp and in cooperation with Pia Corporation, National Film Center is proud to present the world premiere of a newly restored version of KURUTTA IPPEIJI, which will be dedicated to FIAF and its colleagues who preserve and safeguard precious film culture of the world.

KURUTTA IPPEIJI, directed by young Teinosuke Kinugasa, represents the brilliant jewel of silent film art and "remains one of the most radical and challenging Japanese movies ever seen here" (Tony Rayns, Time Out Film Guide).

With piano accompaniment by Yuji Takahashi, arguably the most avant-garde composer and player of piano and electronic instruments in contemporary Japan, the premiere screening of this newly restored version from the best pre-print element will celebrate the 80th anniversary of its first release in 1926.

Prior to the screening, from 18:45 to 19:25, Eva Orbanz (President of FIAF) and Paolo Cherchi Usai (National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra) will have a panel "FIAF and the Future of Film Archives," moderated by Hisashi Okajima (National Film Center, Tokyo).

Evening Screening Program
Saturday, April 7/Monday, April 9/Wednesday, April 11, 19:00-21:00 at Cinema 1, NFC

Scheduled every other evening during the congress, a series of screenings will showcase recent achievements of film restoration made by NFC and other film institutions in Japan such as Fukuoka City Library, The Museum of Kyoto, Kawasaki City Museum, Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-visual Library, Film Preservation Society and Ritsumeikan University College of Image Arts and Sciences.

Archivists from the institutions will introduce their films. Plus a special screening with benshi performance (Japanese tradition of narration for silent film show) is planned in the program of April 11.

Screening Schedule
Saturday, April 7 19:00
(total running time: 85 minutes)

The Museum of Kyoto presents:
GION KOUTA EHIGASA: TANUKI DAIJIN
(A Ballad of the Gion, A Pictured Parasol: A Wealthy Raccoon, 1930, Makino Productions [Omuro Studio], directed by Bansho Kanamori) 35mm, b/w, 7 minutes [18 fps], silent. Digitally restored from the 9.5 film by the Museum of Kyoto.

Kawasaki City Museum presents:
HEIWA KINEN TOSHI: HIROSHIMA
(Hiroshima: Aiming at Peace Center, 1954, Naigai Eiga-sha, directed by Ken Akimoto) 35mm, b/w, 30 minutes, sound. Restored by Kawasaki City Museum.

The Fukuoka City Public Library FilmArchive presents:
BAKUDATTO-HIME
(The Princess of Baghdad, 1948, Sanko Eiga-sha, directed by Iwao Ashida) 35mm, b/w, 48 minutes, sound. Jointly restored by The Fukuoka City Publice Library Film Archive and National Film Center. A collection of National Film Center.

Monday, April 9 19:00
(total running time: 95 minutes)

Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-visual Library presents:
SHONEN SHOKUN
(You Boys, 1932, Kyodai Productions, directed by Tamotsu Takata) 35mm, b/w, 28 minutes [24 fps], silent. Jointly restored from the 16mm film by Hiroshima City Cinematographic and Audio-visual Library and National Film Center. A collection of National Film Center.

National Film Center presents:
KEMURIGUSA MONOGATARI
(The Story of Cigarettes, 1926, Tokyo Jiyu Eiga-sha, directed by Noburo Ofuji) 35mm, tinted color, 3 minutes [24 fps], silent;

NAKAYAMA SHICHIRI
(Seven-ri to Nakayama, 1930, Hassei Eiga, directed by Namio Ochiai) 35mm, b/w, 37 minutes [21 fps], sound (Mina Talkie sound system), incomplete;
RHYTHM (1935) 35mm, b/w, 2 minutes [16 fps], silent; PROPAGATE (1935) 35mm, b/w, 4 minutes [16 fps],silent; AN EXPRESSION (1935) 35mm, color (pseudo-Kinemacolor system), 3 minutes [30 fps], silent. All directed by Shigeji Ogino, blown-up from the 9.5mm originals;

KAWAII SAKANAYA-SAN
(A Little Fishmonger, 1953, Konishiroku Shashin Kogo, directed by Shiko Niimura) 35mm, color (Konicolor system), 3 minutes, sound; and
GINRIN (Bicycle in Dream, 1955, Shin Riken Eiga, directed by Masao Yabe, Toshio Matsumoto and Genichiro Higuchi) 35mm, color, 12 minutes, sound, English version.

All restored by and collections of National Film Center.

Wednesday, April 11 19:00
(total running time: 75 minutes)

Film Preservation Society presents:
MODAN KAIDAN: ICHIOKU-EN
(Modern Horror 100,000,000 Yen, Shochiku [Kamata Studio], directed by Torajiro Saito) 35mm, b/w, 15 minutes [16 fps], silent, abridged version. Restored by Film Preservation Society. A collection of National Film Center.

Ritsumeikan University Art Research Centerpresents:ONSEN HIWA: MISASA KOUTA
(The Ballad of Misasa: Tragedy in the Hot Spring Town, 1929, Makino Productions [Omuro Studio], directed by Kichinosuke Hitomi) 35mm, b/w, 60 minutes [18 fps], silent, with English subtitles. Jointly restored by Ritsumeikan University and National Film Center. A collection of National Film Center.

Both screenings that day will have benshi performance by Midori Sawato, the internationally acclaimed benshi performer, with musical accompaniment by Joichi Yuasa (guitar) and Makiko Suzuki (flute).

GALLERY
On the 7th floor of NFC Headquarters, Gallery will be open to the congress participants on Monday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 11. Visit the current exhibitions, "The Japanese Film Heritage" (permanent exhibition) and "Teinosuke Kinugasa: From Female Impersonator to Master Filmmaker."