Program 8
A Town Not Yet Seen
(Mada minu machi)- 1963 / B&W / 16mm / 12 min
Director, Script, Producer: Noda Shinkichi
Assistant Director: Mitsui Yoshiaki
Photography: Inaba Motomitsu, Uemura Ryuichi
Editor: Iwasa Toshie
Music: Ichiyanagi Toshi
Source: Library and Information Center, Kyoto Seika University
This film originated from footage that Noda shot wandering around Nagasaki while he was there working on a PR film at the Mitsubishi shipyard. The footage consists of fragmentary images, of water flowing in stone-paved gutters, narrow alleys and the rooftops of buildings, afternoon and night views of the city glimpsed through a car window, the fishing harbor and the ruins of a church destroyed by the atomic bomb. Finally, an intense light fills the screen and a mushroom cloud is pictured.
The Loneliness of Two Long Distance Runners
(Futari no chokyori runner no kodoku)- 1966 / B&W / 16mm / 9 min
Director, Producer: Noda Shinkichi
Photography: Inaba Motomitsu, Osuka Takeshi
Film Title Design: Hasegawa Genkichi
Source: National Film Archive of Japan
During the marathon event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a surprise incident occurred when a man jumped onto the course from the side of the road and tried to run alongside athlete Abebe Bikila, who was coming up Koshu-kaido Avenue far in the lead of the other runners. Noda happened to be at the scene shooting footage for Carrying the Olympics and later reprinted this short bit of film, editing it into an experimental work in which the shot repeats.
Collapsed Swamp, or Painter Yamashita Kikuji
(Kuzureru numa aruiwa gaka Yamashita Kikuji)- 1976 / B&W / Digital File (Original: 16mm) / 38 min
Director, Editor, Producer: Noda Shinkichi
Photography: Watari Masayuki, Hasegawa Genkichi
Sound: Honma Kimio, Inoue Yosuke
Music: Hasegawa Genkichi
Title Design: Kidokoro Masao
Cast: Yamashita Kikuji
Source: Watari Junkichi
A documentary about the iconoclastic painter Yamashita Kikuji that depicts the 1969 Tomurai-ten (Funeral Exhibition) of then-recent work by Yamashita and his late older brother Taniguchi Kunbi, the living space he shared with his wife and his pet owls, and scenes of the artist at work. The sound of Yamashita’s voice and the rhythm of his speech accompanying the images leave a strong impression.
Mizutani Isao’s Wanderings through Ten Spiritual Worlds
(Mizutani Isao no jikkai hoko)- 1984 / Color / 16mm / 34 min
Editor: Noda Shinkichi
Photography: Otsuka Masayuki
Film Title Design: Mizutani Isao
Production Company: Nagoya Painting School
Source: Mizutani Izuru
This film documents painter Mizutani Isao’s creative process as he prepares for his solo exhibition “Between Ten Spiritual Worlds: Flies and the Dinner Table.” Mizutani’s method involves painting the surface of his canvases with water-soluble acrylics, then applying India ink and water and freezing them naturally. No sound was recorded for the film, which was projected silent with Mizutani himself narrating over the images.