July 12 – 15, 2012 in Toronto Source: Shinsedai Cinema Festival, Ciarlo Communications press releases Official Site: shinsedai.ca Special thanks to Vince J. Ciarlo
Shinsedai Cinema Festival July 12 – 15, 2012 Revue Cinema Tickets on Sale June 21, 2012 Chris Magee, Co-director and Co-programmer of the Shinsedai Cinema Festival has announced that Japanese director Yu Irie’s film RINGING IN THEIR EARS (??? ????????? ???????????????, Gekijouban Shinsei Kamattechan Rokkun Roru wa Nariyamanai, 2011 ) will have its Canadian premiere as the opening night film of the fourth annual festival on Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., at the festival’s new home, The Revue Cinema in Roncesvalles Village. This film kicks off four days of Japan’s best new filmmaking talent for a new generation. New this year, the festival presents "Battle Girls & Bondage", Toronto’s first ever Pink Film Double Bill, on Saturday, July 14, at 9:30 p.m. Presented in conjunction with Pink Eiga and Northbound Leather, the evening features screenings of BATTLE GIRLS (????????????, Nerawareta gakuen: seifuku o osou, 1986) and NEW TOKYO DECADENCE: THE SLAVE (??, Dorei, 2007), plus an unforgettable mix of sexy performances, pageantry and kink. Japanese pink films, hour-long erotic film productions, have gained worldwide popularity in the past few years through the scholarship of Shinsedai’s Jasper Sharp and his book, Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema, and through the work of L.A.-based distributor Pink Eiga. The world of pink film has also produced some of Japan’s best known directors, including Yojiro Takita, the man behind the Oscar-winning film DEPARTURES. The fourth annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival, described by the Toronto Star as, “one of the city’s youngest and most original movie events,” pushes boundaries by bringing together a program of modern, independent Japanese cinema to Toronto audiences and contemporary films addressing contemporary issues that do not enjoy as many programming opportunities outside the country. The feature films being screened this year, at The Revue Cinema meet the curatorial and objective goals of Shinsedai. The additional feature films being presented in this year’s festival are: · ENTER THE COSMOS: TAKASHI MAKINO SPECIAL (2004-2011), directed by Takashi Makino, combining minimalist imagery with original musical soundscapes by several noise musicians.
· The rarely screened 1938 horror film THE GHOST CAT AND THE MYSTERIOUS SHAMISEN (???????, Kaibyo nazo no shamisen), directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara. · Canadian Premiere of the zany comedy ZERO MAN VS. THE HALF VIRGIN (????????, Hanbun Shojo to Zero Otoko, 2011), directed by Sakichi Sato, screenwriter of cult hits ICHI THE KILLER and GOZU. · The gorgeous butoh dance documentary THE NAKED SUMMER (???, Hadaka no Natsu, 2007), directed by Kenji Okabe. · FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: YUBARI FANTA SPECIAL, featuring a program of short films by various directors from the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, coordinated directly with Yubari director Yasuhiro Togawa. · Toronto Premiere of Daisuke Miyazaki’s neo-noir assassin tale, END OF THE NIGHT (???????, Yoruga Owaru Basho, 2011). · Toronto Premiere of director Shinpei Takeda’s documentary HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI DOWNLOAD (???????????????, Hiroshima Nagasaki Daunr?do, 2009), on the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the raw emotional power of the individual stories of a group of survivors. · The North American Premiere of director Sho Miyake’s anti-coming of age suspenseful drama GOOD FOR NOTHING (?????, Yakutatazu, 2010). · BEYOND ANIME: THE OUTER LIMITS -- 16 animated shorts, made between 1994 – 2011, taking adventurous audiences from the well-trodden paths of anime to the farthest reaches of Japan’s animation landscape, curated by Shinsedai’s Jasper Sharp. · The North American Premiere of TENTSUKI (???????, Tenshi Tsukinuke 6-Chome, 2011), directed by Masafumi Yamada. A darkly funny and surreal film that takes audiences down back alleys and narrow streets to a Kyoto that only exists in fevered imaginations.
Shorts Program Each feature film presentation will include screenings of some of the best Japanese short films available. This year’s shorts program includes: Go Shibata’s BACK (2011), Makoto Ohtake’s DARK ON DARK (2010), Daisuke Yamaoka’s THE FEET (Imuoto no Ashi – 2011), FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: YUBARI FANTA SPECIAL (HOLE AND POLE by Takuaki Tsunemoto, THE STUDENT WRESTLER by Yumehito Imanri, and MRS. AKKO AND HER HUSBAND by Kotaro Terauchi – 2010), Team Gatera’s TSUKI-YOMI (2005), and Hajime Izuki’s WHO OPENS THE DOOR (2011). Tickets Advance tickets for the fourth annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival will go on sale Thursday, June 21, 2012 and can be purchased at select retailers and online at the festival’s website shinsedai.ca. Festival passes and individual tickets are available at Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Avenue during the festival, subject to availability. All individual tickets are $12.00 for adults and $10 for students and seniors (with valid identification). Five Film passes are $50.00, and a Deluxe Pass for the entire festival’s screenings is only $108.00. For the complete schedule of films and ticket retailers log on to shinsedai.ca.
About the Shinsedai Cinema Festival
The Shinsedai Cinema Festival was co-founded in 2009 by Toronto native Chris MaGee, author and founder and editor of Toronto’s own J-Film Pow-Wow, the premiere Japanese film blog in Canada, and Jasper Sharp, UK writer, film historian and curator. Its purpose is to bring modern, boundary-pushing and independent-Japanese cinema to Toronto audiences each year, challenging Western audiences’ understanding and appreciation of what Japanese film is, now, and where it is going. The fourth annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival is sponsored by: Japan Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, IndieGogo, The Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; Pan-Asia Student Society, University of Toronto, Row 3, NOW Magazine, Carte Blanche Photography, CanAsian International Dance Festival, Lalli Creations, Ontario Spring Water Sake Company, and Steam Whistle Brewing.