Please use the links below to make reservations for the Contemporary Japanese Cinema: Outside, Elsewhere, In the World film event taking place February 19, 2010 - February, 21, 2010 at the Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall, USC.
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SCA Events
Feb 19, 2010 - Feb 21, 2010
Contemporary Japanese Cinema: Outside, Elsewhere, In the World...
Time: Varied
Location: Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
» make reservations for Baton
» make reservations for Hana and Alice
» make reservations for Air Doll
» make reservations for Azumi
» make reservations for Eureka
» make reservations for Sad Vacation
The School of Cinematic Arts and
Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative
Invite you and a guest to a special film celebration
Contemporary Japanese Cinema: Outside, Elsewhere, In the World...
A three-day Visions & Voices film symposium hosted by Akira Mizuta Lippit
Friday, Feb. 19th - Sunday, Feb. 21st, 2010
Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL.
ELECTRONIC RSVPS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL SCREENINGS.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The resurgence of Japanese cinema in the 1990s dramatically reconfigured the aspirations, practices and reception of one of the largest and most continuous film cultures outside of the United States. This three-day event features films by three contemporary Japanese filmmakers whose work has crossed national borders and been viewed outside of Japan, elsewhere, in the world: Shinji Aoyama, Shunji Iwai and Ryuhei Kitamura.
Aoyama, also an acclaimed novelist, is the internationally renowned director of Eureka (2000) and Sad Vacation (2007). Iwai, who began his career as a visual artist and a maker of music videos, has enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout Asia, most notably in South Korea, China and Taiwan. Among Iwai's remarkable films are Love Letter (1995) and his dark reflection on adolescence, All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001). Kitamura, who also began his career as a visual artist, studied in Australia before becoming a prominent member of the film industries of both Japan and Hollywood with films such as Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and an adaptation of Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train (2008).
Keisuke Kitano, one of Japan's most energetic new film critics and scholars, will offer illuminating commentary throughout the festival. All films will be screened in Japanese with English subtitles.
SCHEDULE OF SCREENINGS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19:
6:00 P.M. -- Reception in front of Norris Cinema Theatre, sponsored by the East Asian Studies Center.
7:00 P.M. -- Baton (2009), 50 minutes
Written by Shunji Iwai, Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Set in three 20 minute parts, the animated sci-fi film Baton is a miraculous collaboration between Shunji Iwai of Swallowtail Butterfly and Ryuhei Kitamura of Versus & Azumi. Produced for the 150th Anniversary of the opening of Yokohama port, this futuristic film follows two main characters, Apollo and Michal, who will live side by side on a future earth with intelligent robots.
MAKE A RESERVATION
8:00 P.M. -- Hana and Alice (2004), 135 minutes
Written and Directed by Shunji Iwai
Director Shunji Iwai captures the coming-of-age experience of Japanese youth though his vivid portrayal of Hana (Anne Suzuki) and Alice (Yu Aoi), two childhood friends who find themselves caught between love and friendship. Lucid in its observations yet tinged with the hue of nostalgia, Hana and Alice offers an enchanting poem on youth in Iwai's latest ode to adolescence.
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10:00 P.M. -- Panel Discussion featuring Shunji Iwai, Ryuhei Kitamura, Keisuke Kitano and Akira Mizuta Lippit.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20:
3:00 P.M. -- Air Doll (2009), 125 minutes
Written and Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Director Hirokazu Kore-Eda offers food for thought and a poetical imagination when Hideo's life-size "air doll" grows a heart in this uncommon love story. A touching performance by Korean actress Bae Doo-na as the "air doll" accompanies beautiful images by Taiwanese cinematographer, Mark Lee Ping-bin.
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6:00 P.M. -- Panel Discussion featuring Youngmin Choe, Keisuke Kitano and Akira Mizuta Lippit.
7:00 P.M. -- Azumi (2003), 128 minutes
Written by Rikiya Mizushima and Isao Kiriyama, Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Young assassins trained in seclusion emerge with a mission to thwart another civil war in 19th century war-torn feudal Japan. When one of their targets turns the tables on them, it comes down to the strongest assassin, Azumi, to face an entire army. Director Ryuhei Kitamura shows off his ability for extensive storylines, sword fights, martial arts and action sequences.
MAKE A RESERVATION
9:00 P.M. -- Panel Discussion featuring Ryuhei Kitamura, Keisuke Kitano and Akira Kizuta Lippit.
10:30 P.M. -- Party at the School of Cinematic Arts Complex, Steven Spielberg Building lobby. Food and beverages will be provided.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21:
12:00 P.M. -- Eureka (2000), 217 minutes
Written and Directed by Shinji Aoyama
Shinji Aoyama's Eureka is a serene and resonant meditation on the psychological scars wrought upon the victims of terror and violence and of the courage and inner strength they must find to survive.
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4:00 P.M. -- Sad Vacation (2007), 136 minutes
Written and Directed by Shinji Aoyama
A damaged man experiences a series of odd coincidences that send his life careening down a path he never anticipated in director/screenwriter Shinji Aoyama's semi-sequel to his critically acclaimed 2000 drama Eureka. Aoyama forces even the uncertain drifter to try and make sense of his own fractured existence when the past and the future come crashing together.
MAKE A RESERVATION
6:30 P.M. -- Panel Discussion featuring Shinji Aoyama, Keisuke Kitano and Akira Mizuta Lippit.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Akira Mizuta Lippit's teaching and research focus on four primary areas: the history and theory of cinema; world literature and critical theory; Japanese film and culture; and visual cultural studies. His published work reflects these areas and includes two books, Atomic Light (Shadow Optics) and Electric Animal: Toward a Rhetoric of Wildlife.
He has published widely in international venues, and his work has been translated in French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Korean and his articles have appeared in scholarly journals of film, literature, and culture, as well as in national and international exhibition and museum catalogues and scholarly anthologies.
Lippit serves regularly on juries at film festivals and for media organizations, and has been active in the film community as an interviewer of independent filmmakers and video artists. He remains deeply involved in the intellectual community of Japan, where he regularly teaches, lectures, and publishes.
ABOUT CHECK-IN & RESERVATIONS
All screenings are free of charge and open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. The theater will be OVERBOOKED to ensure capacity and the RSVP list will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no reserved seating. Please bring a photo ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 30 minutes prior to showtime.
ABOUT PARKING
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Metered street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.
ABOUT THE EAST ASIAN STUDIES CENTER (EASC)
In 1975, the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences established the East Asian Studies Center (EASC) in order to provide dedicated leadership, coordination and support for the growing interdisciplinary education, research activity, and community outreach concerning East Asia. EASC has been recognized as one of the nation's leading centers for the development of East Asian area studies and is among a small group of elite colleges and universities to be designated a National Resource Center for East Asian studies by the U.S. Department of Education.
To learn more about the EASC, visit: http://college.usc.edu/east_asian_studies/
This program is generously sponsored by
For more information about upcoming programming and events offered by Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative, please visit their website.
Contact: Alessandro Ago
Email Address: aago@cinema.usc.edu
