Screenings

A Man Playing Movie. An Anthology of Japanese Avant-Garde Cinema

This session, a look at Japanese avant-garde cinema of the seventies and eighties, brings together the work of the leading figures of that movement with that of practically invisible artists. The playful cinema of illusion of these three generations of directors combines the representation of landscape with a minimalist analysis of the cinematographic device.

Taking as their starting point the sea (The Pacific Ocean, Heliography, 3···, Walking Works), the investigation of the mechanics of cinema (Xérophtalmie, Xérophilie, Spacy, A Man Playing Movie, Wiper) and an unusual combination of the two (Movie Watching, The Time Slit), the films in this programme construct expanded visions that are only possible with a camera. However, despite the shared tonalities, this session also displays an eclectic variety of these filmmakers’ methods and references.
Takahiko Iimura condenses a Pacific voyage into the illusion of a single horizon. In his physiological challenges, Hiroshi Yamazaki alters the vertical axis of vision or repeats persistent framing using different distances or coordinates. Itaru Kato and Takashi Ito create their trompe l’oeil and divertissements by masking or merging still and moving images to explore the relationship between depth and surface. From Lettrism to Fluxus, in referentiality Akihiko Morishita finds the irony with which he builds his sarcastic collages. And, finally, Jun’ichi Okuyama creates a story within a story with the mechanisms of projection and their possible interferences, thereby composing astonishing lyrical analogies.

The Pacific Ocean, Takahiko Iimura, 1971, no sound, 11 min.; Heliography, Hiroshi Yamazaki, 1979, 6 min.; Movie Watching, Jun’ichi Okuyama, 1982, no sound, 12 min.; 3···, Hiroshi Yamazaki, 1984, 5 min.; The Time Slit, Jun’ichi Okuyama, 1989, 6 min.; Xérophtalmie, Akihiko Morishita, 1984, no sound, 9 min.; Walking Works, Hiroshi Yamazaki, 1983, 5 min.; Xérophilie, Akihiko Morishita, 1984, no sound, 9 min.; Spacy, Takashi Ito, 1981, 9 min.; Wiper, Itaru Kato, 1985, 7 min.; A Man Playing Movie, Jun’ichi Okuyama, 1986-87, 10 min.

16mm screening.

Copies provided by Light Cone (France) and Image Forum (Japan).

Thanks to Kenji Kadowaki.

Date
20 February 2025
Times

19.00

Access will not be allowed once the screening has started

Space
The Auditorium
Admission fee

€ 4 / € 3 Concessions
5-session pass: € 15 / € 12 Concessions
Friends of the CCCB: free of charge

Tickets on sale at the CCCB ticket offices ([email protected] / 933064100) and online.
Passes are only available from the ticket desk.


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