Program 2
Four Major Visual Creators Buck Up Yamagata!
Screenings of works by the Filmmaking Workshop lecturers.
Murayama Kyoichiro: Coordinator (Film Critic) |
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Kanai Katsu: Visual Artist |
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Main work: Deserted Island
- 1969 / B&W / 16mm / 56 min
I aimed at creating a new visual construction, structured like a rope intertwining my own experiences and fantasies with post-war history. The main character Hidekuni represents myself and personifies the nation, and I hope you get a sense of “this world as a nightmare” from the friction between the individual and social solidarity.
Most recent work: Super Documentary Avant-Garde Magic
2003 / Color / Video / 33 min
Visual artist Kanai Katsu documents the everyday life of his alter ego, Kanai Katsumaru. Depressed by his loss of vitality, the elderly Katsumaru trains himself to conquer youth and performs various miracles using homemade “avant-garde magic.” These miracles are not just sleight of hand, so be sure to watch closely.
Kato Itaru: Visual Artist |
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- Main works:
Fade Out / 1978 / 3 min
Fade Out II / 1980 / 8 min
Go-round / 1981 / 8 min
Suspension Bridge / 1983 / 8 min
Focusing / 1984 / 5 min
Wiper / 1985 / 7 min
Washer / 1987 / 10 min
Melt Down / 1988 / 13 min
Zero-TV / 1989 / 8 min
Sparkling / 1991 / 10 min
Fade Out was Kato’s first 16mm piece, and was presented at the 100 Feet Film Festival in 1978 while he was still a student. Ten experimental shorts will be screened. The program includes Sparkling, which focuses on Gulf War media coverage in 1991. The films evoke a gentle stream of consciousness moving from the experimental to the “documental.”
Most recent work: Kaiseki Cuisine
- 2002 / Color / Video / 16 min / Co-dir: Sakurai Atsushi
This collaboration with Kyoto-based visual artist Sakurai Atsushi focuses on “food.” Sakurai obsessively examines the vast quantity of food additives that pass through our bodies everyday, and Kato dissects the richness and poverty of the bento box lunches sold at convenience stores.
The 18th National Cultural Festival “YAMAGATA 2003” Documentary Festival | Program 1: Documentaries from Yamagata | Program 2: Four Major Visual Creators Buck Up Yamagata! | Program 3: Japanese Panorama |