japanese
YIDFF 2003 Information

Yamagata Newsreel!

I see no difference at all between the avant-garde film and the avant-garde newsreel, because a real newsreel, a newsreel which could help man to get out of where he is, must be in the avant-garde of humanity, must contain and be guided by the highest and most advanced dreams of man. (Jonas Mekas)

In 1968 at the height of the protest movement against the Vietnam War, a film collective was formed, spearheaded by Jonas Mekas in New York. It was named “Newsreel.” Aiming to stimulate social change through its images, Newsreel’s ethos spread like wildfire across the United States. From its ranks arose such talented filmmakers as Robert Kramer, Christine Choy, and Jon Jost.

“Yamagata Newsreel!” focuses primarily on the early output of the organization, delving into the international solidarity that was the driving force behind the films made in this period, including the movement’s connections with Japan. Following four themes titled “Birth of Newsreel, 1968,” “Women’s Newsreel,” “Bullet Films” and “Internet Activism,” this provocative program is infused with the incisive insight that only the YIDFF can provide.

The lineup includes April 27, a extremely rare film by festival guest Jon Jost that even he has not seen in years, and works from the Newsreel days of festival juror Christine Choy. Incidentally, the opening screening at this year’s YIDFF will be a new print of Three Day War in Narita by Ogawa Productions, who drew upon Newsreel’s achievements for inspiration in the making of this film.

Opening Screening

Date/Time: October 10 (Friday) 18:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 6F
* Admission to the opening screening is free!

Three Day War in Narita
Ogawa Shinsuke / 1970 / B&W / 16mm / 50 min
Birth of Newsreel, 1968 Part 1

Date/Time: October 11 (Saturday) 10:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

No Game
16mm / 17 min / B&W
Jeanette Rankin Brigade
16mm / 8 min / B&W
Garbage
16mm / 10 min / B&W
Mill-in
16mm / 12 min / B&W
Boston Draft Resistance Group
16mm / 18 min / B&W
Columbia Revolt
16mm / 50 min / B&W

Talk: Oe Masanori
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Birth of Newsreel, 1968 Part 2

Date/Time: October 11 (Saturday) 14:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

The Case against Lincoln Center
16mm / 12 min / B&W
Chicago Convention Challenge
Video / 17 min / B&W
Black Panther
16mm / 15 min / B&W
Summer ’68
Video / 60 min / B&W
April 27
Video / 10 min / B&W

Talk: Jon Jost
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Newsreel Symposium

Date/Time: October 11 (Saturday) 19:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F
* Admission is free.

Participants: Christine Choy, Oe Masanori, and others
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Women’s Newsreel

Date/Time: October 12 (Sunday) 10:30
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

Up against the Wall, Ms. America
16mm / 8 min / B&W
The Woman’s Film
16mm / 40 min / B&W
From Spikes to Spindles
16mm / 50 min / Color

Talk: Christine Choy
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Bullet Films Part 1

Date/Time: October 12 (Sunday) 14:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

What Am I, a Robot?
16mm / 25 min / B&W
Paris in the Month of May
16mm / 35 min / B&W
Haight-Ashbury
16mm / 7 min / B&W
Hanoi, Tuesday the 13th
16mm / 35 min / B&W, Color
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Bullet Films Part 2

Date/Time: October 12 (Sunday) 18:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

Black Panther—Off the Pig
16mm / 15 min / B&W / Japanese dubbed version
Columbia Revolt
16mm / 50 min / B&W / Japanese dubbed version
Three Day War in Narita
16mm / 50 min / B&W / New print
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Newsreel Related Screenings

Date/Time: October 12 (Sunday) 21:30
Venue: Kura Obihachi
* Admission is free.

Great Society
16mm / 17 min / Color / with six 16mm projectors
Head Game
16mm / 10 min / Color

Talk: Oe Masanori
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Bullet Films Part 3

Date/Time: October 13 (Monday) 10:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

’68 Okinawa—Japan
16mm / 8 min / B&W
Forest of Youth
16mm / 40 min / B&W
A Report from Haneda
16mm / 58 min / B&W
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Internet Activism Part 1

Date/Time: October 13 (Monday) 14:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

“Things We Have Discovered through Webcasting”
Presenter: Kobayashi Atsushi (Video Act!)
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Internet Activism Part 2

Date/Time: October 13 (Monday) 18:00
Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall (AZ), 4F

“My Gulf War: Net Activism from the Left, the Right, and Every Other Direction”
Presenter: Abé Mark Nornes (film scholar, Michigan University)
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Newsreel Related Screenings (repeat)

Date/Time: October 15 (Monday) 19:00
Venue: Kura Obihachi
* Admission is free.

Great Society
16mm / 17 min / Color / with six 16mm projectors
Head Game
16mm / 10 min / Color

YIDFF 2003 Information • Jury Comments • International Competition | New Asian Currents | Okinawa—Nexus of Borders: Ryukyu Reflections | Yamagata Newsreel! | New Docs Japan | Other Screenings • Schedule • Map of Venues | Tickets | Accommodation | FAQ •