| V I S U A L I Z Z A D I S C U S S I O N E |
| Chaoszilla |
Inserito il - 24 feb 2011 : 09:21:07
Retrospettiva Sion Sono, Arietty, Helldriver, il nuovo Kumakiri e Zeze Takahisa.
Nippon Connection 2011 - Preview on the Festival Program
11th Japanese Film Festival, Frankfurt am Main
April 27 – May 1, 2011
There’s only a few weeks left to the starting shot of the eleventh Nippon Connection Film Festival and the preparations are in full swing. From April 27 to May 1, 2011 more than 100 of the latest Japanese short and feature films will find their way to Frankfurt, among them many international premieres with the film makers in attendance. The biggest festival of Japanese film is topped off by a rich and sensuous cultural program. We are happy to reveal a number of the festival’s highlights.
In the NIPPON CINEMA program section, fans of the renowned animation studio Ghibli can at last enjoy a new masterpiece. Nippon Connection will present the German premiere of ARRIETTY, with the famous animation artist Hiromasa YONEBAYASHI (key animator of PONYO and SPIRITED AWAY) serving as director for the first time. The screenplay was written by none other than Hayao MIYAZAKI. Keichi HARA’s film COLORFUL proves that unique animation films are also created outside Studio Ghibli. The expressiveness of his poetic novel adaptation places him among the most talented anime directors of our time.
After the success of Kazuyoshi KUMAKIRI and his film NON-KO at the festival of 2009, this year’s audience can look forward to SKETCHES OF KAITAN CITY. In his atmospherically dense film, KUMAKIRI refers to a series of short stories by the late author Yasushi SATO. Quite another key is struck in HELL DRIVER: cult director Yoshihiro NISHIMURA (TOKYO GORE POLICE) has staged a splatter film full of non-stop action and a host of zombies. Using various allusions and distinctive ideas, NISHIMURA proves to have a strong grasp of the genre. Nippon Connection will also present the feature debut of German resident artist Hideaki HOSONO as a European premiere. In this bizarre and gaudy debut work, the congenial screenplay having been written by Kankuro KUDO (GO, PING PONG), Tadanobu ASANO plays an author whose friends are involved in a conspiracy for his murder. All premiere films will be eligible for the NIPPON CINEMA AWARD endowed with 2,000 Euros and sponsored for the seventh time already by Bankhaus Metzler.
In the new program section NIPPON VISIONS (formerly known as Nippon Digital), exhibiting the diversity of Japanese independent film and new digital formats, the festival audience can experience the latest work of Takahisa ZEZE (MOON CHILD, PANDEMIC) who rose to fame in the nineties with his pink films. In the course of four and a half hours, his epic HEAVEN’S STORY depicts the lives of various protagonists, involving them in repeated encounters and confronting them with bitter strokes of fate. In a special feature, Nippon Connection will give a broad insight into the latest graduation projects of the GRADUATE SCHOOL OF FILM AND NEW MEDIA of TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS in Yokohama - one of the most important film academies in Japan, promoting talented newcomers under the direction of Kiyoshi KUROSAWA. Independent animation film is also present at Nippon Connection: the outstanding film MIDORI-KO by Keita KUROSAKA can be qualified as a surrealist masterpiece and has been drawn and animated virtually as a one-man project by the director himself. Animation film group CALF enriches the festival with a practical approach: besides presenting an exclusive film program, they will also invite the audience to their animation workshop.
The cooperation with JVTA (Japanese Visualmedia Translation Academy) for supporting young film makers will be continued with this year’s festival. For the second time, JVTA will donate the NIPPON VISIONS AWARD (formerly known as Nippon Digital Award) which will go to the best feature film of the NIPPON VISIONS section based on the decision of an international expert jury. The winner will be provided with a subtitling for their next film.
NIPPON RETRO is dedicated to the enfant terrible Sion SONO, who made himself known as a poet during his youth and who has been working successfully as a director for 25 years. Many of his films, such as SUICIDE CLUB and NORIKO`S DINNER TABLE, have been shown at international festivals. His virtuosic talent for narration culminated in LOVE EXPOSURE, receiving both the Caligari Film Award and the FIPRESCI Award at the 2009 Berlinale.
Once again, NIPPON CULTURE will offer a wide variety of exciting events ranging from traditional art forms to Japanese pop culture. The Japanese cheerleading troupe „Gamushara-Oendan“ will certainly animate the festival audience in their performances and workshops. Many other events will allow an active experience of Japanese culture: The balance of mind and body is fostered in a yoga workshop with Yukari MATSUYAMA, a kendo session with the General Consul of Japan, Toyoei SHIGEEDA, as well as in shiatsu workshops and the special baby massage workshop provided by aceki e.V.. Another innovation is the NIPPON KIDS section and its workshops, where children can playfully learn about Japanese culture.
The exhibition on Japanese wrapping design curated by Bianca Beuttel, an artist living in Japan, promises to be a special highlight. You can also experience traditional Japanese dancing and try out some ikebana and origami for yourself. And of course, the festival will not abandon its highly popular classics: culinary indulgence is provided by a cooking workshop and the tea and sake lounge, along with the festival’s traditional film breakfast. Nippon Home Cinema with Roberto Cappelluti and many other events at the festival will create a joyful atmosphere.
Adding to numerous lectures and talks with film makers as well as celebrating the 150th anniversary of German-Japanese Friendship, the Department for Japanese Studies at Frankfurt University will hold a colloquium on the topic “Grown Up: All Alone. Life Scripts of a New Generation in Contemporary Literary Texts“.
Friday night will see a unique performance by the outré pop band OSCA from Berlin, while on Saturday, April 30, DJ Hito, who is already a Nippon Connection legend, will make all the party people dance “Walpurgis Night style”.
Nippon Connection is under the patronage of Mrs. Eva Kühne-Hörmann, Hessian Minister of Science and the Arts, Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, Vice President of Goethe University Frankfurt, and the General Consulate of Japan in Frankfurt. Even with its increasing audience response, the internationally renowned festival is still organized on a voluntary basis by the non-profit association Nippon Connection. In order to support the vivid cultural exchange, the festival offers special sustaining memberships. Friends of Nippon Connection are also offered a chance to sponsor specific events in the NIPPON CULTURE section and become active partners of the festival.
Locations
Students’ House on Bockenheim Campus Bockenheim (Festival Center), Orfeo’s Erben Cinema, Mal Seh’n Cinema, Exhibition Hall 1A, Kunstraum Westend
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| 4 U L T I M E R I S P O S T E (in alto le più recenti) |
| luca |
Inserito il - 10 mag 2011 : 00:11:03
ewwiwa, ha winto arietty. |
| Chaoszilla |
Inserito il - 09 mag 2011 : 16:49:23
The Award Winners
NIPPON CINEMA AWARD
First Place
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty)
D: Hiromasa YONEBAYASHI, J 2010
Second Place
Wig (Kazura)
D: Renpei TSUKAMOTO, J 2010
Third Place
Rinco`s Restaurant (Shokudo Katatsumuri)
D: Mai TOMINAGA, J 2009
NIPPON VISIONS AWARD
Winner
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri)
D: Go SHIBATA, J 2010
Honorary Mention
Door to the Sea (Umi he no tobira)
D: Reiko OHASHI, J 2010
Nippon Connection Encourages Solidarity With Japan
Last Sunday marked the end of the eleventh edition of the Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection in Frankfurt. Once again, the festival received an enormous reaction from the audience, and more than 16,000 visitors attended well over 100 of the latest short and feature films from Japan as well as around 30 accompanying events. After five exciting days of cultural exchange, the last evening saw a sold out screening of COLORFUL by Keiichi HARA and the award ceremony for the seventh NIPPON CINEMA AWARD and the second NIPPON VISIONS AWARD, with more than 60 film-makers and artists from Japan as guests.
In the contest for the NIPPON CINEMA AWARD, the audience chose the animation film ARRIETTY by Hiromasa YONEBAYASHI, the latest production of Ghibli Studio, as the winner. For the sixth time, the award endowed with 2,000 € was sponsored by Bankhaus Metzler. Gerhard Wiesheu of Bankhaus Metzler declared the laureate and entrusted the award to Takashi NISHIMURA, managing director of UNIJAPAN (an organization for the promotion of Japanese film), in lieu of the absent director. The comedy WIG by Renpei TSUKAMOTO also won the hearts of the audience and came in second, while RINCO’S RESTAURANT by Mai TOMINAGA made it to third place.
The most promising film in the NIPPON VISIONS section (formerly known as NIPPON DIGITAL) was awarded a jury prize in cooperation with Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA) for the second time. The festival jury gave the NIPPON VISIONS AWARD to DOMAN SEMAN by Go SHIBATA, an “essential cinematic assault", as the jury statement explained. Jury members Tom Mes (midnighteye.com), Maggie Lee (Hollywood Reporter) and Rüdiger Suchsland (FAZ, Filmdienst) also made a special honorary mention of DOOR TO THE SEA by Reiko OHASHI. The Nippon Visions Award will enable the director of the winning film to produce a subtitling for his following project and thus find an international audience again. As representatives of JVTA, Kyotake ISHII and Nami ASAKAWA gave this award to Takashi NISHIMURA too, who acted as trustee for both winners.
At the award ceremony, festival coordinator Marion Klomfass also introduced the new program team for Nippon Connection 2011. After the withdrawal of festival co-founder Holger Ziegler, and also of Alexander Zahlten and Christiane Borchert last year, Marion Klomfass, Petra Palmer, Dennis Vetter and Atsuko MORIMUNE (Tokyo) were responsible for the film program while Hannah Bohr and Jasmin Rolli developed the concept for the Nippon Culture program.
In view of the current situation in Japan, Nippon Connection 2011 was dominated by solidarity and exchange. The sales revenues of the HELP JAPAN! party on Saturday were entirely donated, a tombola and further donation options at the festival center increased the amount to help earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Moreover, every sold movie ticket added 50 cents.
Nippon Connection also reacted to the latest incidents in Japan by adding special events dealing with the problematic aspects of nuclear energy. Director and anti-nuclear activist Hitomi KAMANAKA visited the festival and presented her two documentaries ROKKASHO RHAPSODY and ASHES TO HONEY, trying to raise awareness for the dangers of nuclear energy. In the following conversations with the director, many visitors took the opportunity to learn about the Japanese perspective of the current situation.
With a total number of 102 short and feature films presented this year and more than 16,000 visitors, Nippon Connection is the biggest Japanese film festival outside of Japan. Once again the festival was patronized by Mrs. Eva Kühne-Hörmann, Hessian Minister of Science and the Arts, the General Consul of Japan in Frankfurt, and Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, Vice President of Goethe-University Frankfurt. For eleven years Nippon Connection has been organized on a voluntary basis by non profit Nippon Connection registered association. |
| Chaoszilla |
Inserito il - 05 apr 2011 : 09:12:27
Retrospettiva su Sion Sono (tra l'altro)
Nippon Connection 2011 – Festival Program completed
11th Japanese Film Festival in Frankfurt
April 27 – May 1, 2011
The program for the eleventh Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection in Frankfurt is complete. In the 150th year of “German-Japanese Friendship“, the biggest festival for Japanese film worldwide will present an overview of film making in the Land of the Rising Sun, from April 27 to May 1, 2011, featuring many international premieres. More than 100 of the latest film productions from Japan will be shown in the NIPPON CINEMA and NIPPON VISIONS sections, and a number of them will be introduced by the filmmaker personally. In a retrospective dedicated to the critically acclaimed and visionary director Sion SONO (LOVE EXPOSURE), Nippon Connection will display some rarely seen gems from his oeuvre. This year’s festival will be opened by Hitoshi YASAKI’s love drama SWEET LITTLE LIES, a film taking a glimpse behind the facade of a seemingly perfect relationship.
The NIPPON CINEMA section is filled with many exciting new discoveries this year. One highlight of the festival will definitely be found in MILOCRORZE – A LOVE STORY, the feature film debut of video artist Yoshimasa ISHIBASHI, who will be present at Nippon Connection to introduce his latest work personally. Being a mix of various genres, and abounding with visual originality, this film ably blends elements of musical, fairytale, vintage commercials and samurai drama into a unique cinematic experience. DUMBEAST by German-born artist Mr. Hide, another feature film debut, will also be shown as a European premiere in the presence of the director. Mr. Hide has staged an idiosyncratic combination of pop comedy, criminal story and youth drama, with the film also containing animation sequences produced by Studio 4°C.
In addition to the Sion SONO retrospective, Nippon Connection will also present SONO’s latest work: COLD FISH has sparked an intense debate at the last Venice Film Festival, being an acerbic, thriller-like family portrait. In comparison, PERMANENT NOBARA by Daihachi YOSHIDA (FUNUKE SHOW SOME LOVE, YOU LOSERS!) is more subtle and unfolds a vicissitudinous love story only at second sight. Expectations are high for the international premiere of Shinsuke SATO’s manga adaptation GANTZ, the film proving to be a blockbuster at home. SATO has won last year’s Nippon Cinema Award with OBLIVION ISLAND: HARUKA & THE MAGIC MIRROR. Anime fans will also look forward to the German premiere of ARRIETTY, a Ghibli production directed by Hiromasa YONEBAYASHI (key animator of PONYO and SPIRITED AWAY), the script coming from no other than Hayao MIYAZAKI. Keiichi HARA and his poetic masterpiece COLORFUL give further proof of the diversity of Japanese animation films.
In the new program section of NIPPON VISIONS (formerly known as Nippon Digital), which focuses on promising new directors and artists, new cooperation and guest programs provide an opportunity for an even more comprehensive insight into the field of Japanese cinema. Among others, award winning films from the Osaka CO2 Festival and selected entries from the Asian Hot Shots Festival (Berlin) and the multi-media festival onedotzero (London), can be seen here. Three independent film magazines from Japan (NOBODY, HOGA HOLIC, EIGA IKKI) will present programs containing some of the more unusual films from beyond the area of mainstream productions.
Fresh from Berlinale and donning a FIPRESCI Award comes HEAVEN’S STORY, Takahisa ZEZE’s 278-minute impressive epic on guilt and atonement. Another visual delicacy will be Keita KUROSAKA’s anime MIDORI-KO, a surrealist masterpiece that has been drawn and animated by the director as a one-man project.
A special program section will be dedicated to Yokohama – soon to be a partner city of Frankfurt –, with five graduation film projects from Yokohama-based film academy TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, a prestigious school under the direction of veteran Kiyoshi KUROSAWA.
Exciting documentaries will let you take a look at the Japanese film and artist scene. COMING FUTURE by Kyuya NAKAGAWA highlights the Japanese independent film scene, in LIVE FROM TOKYO director Lewis Rapkin portrays underground musicians, and Linda Hoaglund analyzes Japan’s post-world-war-two art and politics in her film ANPO. In his mockumentary SHIROME, Koji SHIRAISHI uses seemingly realistic images to create a hilarious horror farce about J-Pop band Momoiro Clover.
Nippon Connection Festival has two awards waiting for a winner. Among all the premiere films of the Nippon Cinema program, the NIPPON CINEMA AWARD will be given to a film chosen by the audience. This award with a value of 2,000 Euros is sponsored for the seventh time already by Bankhaus Metzler. In cooperation with JVTA (Japanese Visualmedia Translation Academy), the NIPPON VISIONS AWARD (formerly known as Nippon Digital Award) will be given to the best feature film of the NIPPON VISIONS section as a support for young filmmakers. The winner here will be chosen by an international expert jury (among others, Tom Mes of midnighteye.com and Maggie Lee of Hollywood Reporter), and will receive a subtitling for their next film.
This year’s NIPPON RETRO section presents films of Sion SONO, a director gaining not the least part of his international fame with LOVE EXPOSURE (2008). Some of his most expressive films will be shown with subtitles for the first time. As an international premiere, Nippon Connection will show the documentary/feature film UTSU-SHIMI (1999) which has been produced by SONO for the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. Other films include his feature film debut BICYCLE SIGHS (1990), his first international festival success HEYA - THE ROOM (1992), his experimental pink film DANKON: THE MAN (1998) as well as STRANGE CIRCUS (2005), NORIKO`s DINNER TABLE (2006) and EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS (2007).
The cultural program section of NIPPON CULTURE will see a series of animating performances by the boys of the cheerleading troupe “Gamushara-Oendan” from Tokyo. There will also be an exhibition on Japanese wrapping design, curated by Japan-based artist Bianca Beuttel. Artists Yuko TAKATSUDO and Fumio OHASHI will present their latest works in the Kunstraum Westend gallery.
Kids will enjoy the new section of NIPPON KIDS, where Japanese culture can be experienced playfully. Thanks to the cooperation with the International Japanese School Frankfurt, children between 6 and 12 years can try some ink painting or origami. And of course, their parents will have all the more leisure to explore the rest of the festival! But kids will also be attracted to the cinema when Nippon Connection presents two animation films, CHEBURASHKA und THE BEAR’S SCHOOL, in a children’s matinee.
In the middle of all the festival excitement, a yoga workshop with Yukari MATSUYAMA, a kendo session with the General Consul of Japan, shiatsu workshops as well as a special baby massage workshop will provide for the right balance between body and soul. At the festival center, the audience will enjoy traditional Japanese dance and singing performances, ikebana and origami. And of course Nippon Connection will not abandon its popular classics: give yourself a treat at the Japanese cooking workshop, in the tea and sake lounge or at the film breakfast. An entertaining evening will be guaranteed at “Nippon Home Cinema – Late Lounge Reloaded”, when host Roberto Cappelluti and Japanese film expert Jörg Buttgereit will pay homage to a selected highlight of Japanese trash cinema.
Apart from many lectures and talks with filmmakers on such topics as Japanese avant-garde cinema of the sixties and seventies, the Department of Japanese Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt will hold a conference on the specific social experiences of the younger generation (“Grown Up, All Alone: Visions of Life among the Young Generation in Contemporary Literary Texts”). In another cooperation with JVTA (Japanese Visualmedia Translation Academy), Taro GOTO, one of the most renowned English-Japanese translators, will give an interactive lecture on the subtitling and dubbing of films.
Naturally, Nippon Connection will also party. The opening lounge on Wednesday, April 27, features DJ Adam Torel from London (Third Windows Films), with visuals by VJ-artists of eyetrap.net. Friday night, April 29, will see a unique live performance staged by Japanese-German pop band OSCA from, and on Saturday, April 30, Nippon Connection legends DJ Hito and ODD will rock the dancefloor.
Nippon Connection is under the patronage of Eva Kühne-Hörmann, Hessian Minister for Science and the Arts, Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, Vice President of Goethe University Frankfurt, and the General Consulate of Japan in Frankfurt. Even with its growing popularity, the internationally renowned festival is still organized on a voluntary basis by the non-profit Nippon Connection registered association. In order to maintain this vivid cultural exchange, the festival offers special sustaining memberships.
Locations
Students’ House on Bockenheim Campus (Festival Center), Jügelstrasse 1, Frankfurt
Orfeo’s Erben Cinema, Hamburger Allee 45, Frankfurt
Mal Seh’n Cinema, Adlerflychtstrasse 6H
AusstellungsHalle 1A, Schulstrasse 1a, Frankfurt
Kunstraum Westend, Beethovenstrasse 35, Frankfurt
Advance Ticket Sale Starting April 11, 2011
www.nipponconnection.com
Landkarten Schwarz, Am Kornmarkt 12, Frankfurt
Campus-Shop, Grüneburgplatz 1 (Auditorium Center, Westend Campus), Frankfurt
Press Contact
Dennis Vetter, Mobil: +49 (0)176 6163 0693
presse@nipponconnection.com, www.nipponconnection.com
Stills and Info
www.nipponconnection.com/presseserver/
Username: nipponpresse, Password: nipponpresselogin
Excerpt Overview of the Film Program (as of March 20, 2011)
The ABC's of Marriage (Kekkongaku nyumon shinkonhen), D: Hisashi SATO, J 2010
Abraxas (Aburakusasu no matsuri), D: Naoki KATO, J 2010
ANPO: Art X War, D: Linda Hoaglund, J 2010
Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty), D: Hiromasa YONEBAYASHI, J 2010
Beautiful Method (Utsukushii sube), D: Takamasa OOE, J 2009
Cage, D: Shinsuke KURIMOTO, J 2010
Cold Fish (Tsumetai nettaigyo), D: Sion SONO, J 2010
Colorful, D: Keiichi HARA, J 2010
Coming Future (Sinka), D: Kyuya NAKAGAWA, J 2010
Devil Has Come (Akuma ga kita), D: Shun SAKAIDA, J 2010
Doman Seman (Horikawa nakatachiuri), D: Go SHIBATA, J 2010
Door to the Sea (Umi he no tobira), D: Reiko OHASHI, J 2010
Drifting Clouds (Ukigumo), D: Daisuke HASEBE, J 2010
The Duckling (Ahiru no ko), D: Sayaka ONO, J 2010
DumBeast, D: Mr. Hide, J 2009
Gantz, D: Shinsuke SATO, J 2011
Good for Nothing (Yakutatazu), D: Sho MIYAKE, J 2009
Heavens Story, D: Takahisa ZEZE, J 2010
Helldriver, D: Yoshihiro NISHIMURA, J 2010
Here comes the Bride, My Mom (Okan no yomeiri), D: Mipo O, J 2010
Hero Show, D: Kazuyuki IZUTSU, J 2010
Hiroshima Nagasaki download, D: Shinpei Takeda, J 2009
Karate-Robo Zaborgar, D: Noboru IGUCHI, J 2011
Kyojima 3rd St., Sumida City (Sumidaku kyojima 3chome), D: Kota YOSHIDA, J 2010
Let's-Make-the-Teacher-Have-a-Miscarriage Club (Sensei wo ryuzan saseru kai), D: Eisuke NAITO, J 2011
Live from Tokyo, D: Lewis Rapkin, J 2010
Love Addiction (Fuyu no kemono), D: Nobuteru UCHIDA, J 2010
Midori-ko, D: Keita KUROSAKA, J 2010
MILOCRORZE - A Love Story, D: Yoshimasa ISHIBASHI, J 2011
Mole’s Festival (Mogura no matsuri), D: Kishu IZUCHI, J 2010
Muddy Planet (Doro no wakusei), D: Kishu IZUCHI, J 2010
Never Let Me Go (Hanasanaide), D: Sayaka FUKUI, J 2010
A Night in Nude – Salvation (Nudo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau), D: Takashi ISHII, J 2010
Permanent Nobara, D: Daihachi YOSHIDA, J 2010
Rinco`s Restaurant (Shokudo Katatsumuri), D: Mai TOMINAGA, J 2009
The Rise and Fall of the Unparalleled Band (Aosugita guilty), D: Wataru HIRANAMI, J 2010
Sankaku, D: Keisuke YOSHIDA, J 2010
Sheep in the Night (Mayonaka no hitsuji), D: Paul Young, J 2010
Shirome, D: Koji SHIRAISHI, J 2010
Sketches of Kaitan City (Kaitan-shi jokei), D: Kazuyoshi KUMAKIRI, J 2010
Sweet Little Lies, D: Hitoshi YAZAKI, J 2009
The Tatami Galaxy, D: Masaaki YUASA, J 2010
Teto, D: Hiroshi GOKAN, J 2010
TUESDAY GIRL, D: Rikiya IMAIZUMI, J 2011
Wandering Home (Yoi ga sametara uchi ni kaero), D: Yoichi HIGASHI, J 2010
Wig (Kazura), D: Renpei TSUKAMOTO, J 2010
Yoko, D: Kayo NARUTOMI, J 2010
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| LinoPalino |
Inserito il - 06 mar 2011 : 19:36:37
Che la selezione che fanno nn è neanche tanto male, ma loro sono dei cioccolatai...poi va beh l'anno scorso sn anche rimasto bloccato dal vulcano..
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