Archipelago: Exploring the Landscape of Contemporary Japanese Women Filmmakers

A season dedicated to celebrating the diverse and exceptional work by the new generation of female directors who have emerged from the Japanese archipelago in the last fifteen years.

 

A selection of four films, three of them UK premieres, will offer a glimpse into the distinctive voices of these writer-directors, whose work remains largely undiscovered outside their home country. Each with their particular style, these filmmakers have secured themselves a unique place in the current Japanese film industry. They have done so by occupying a narrative space that is neither mainstream nor fully arthouse, subverting genre boundaries, creating unparalleled new visions, and rarely adhering to a solely female-centric vision.

 

To complete the season, a panel discussion with Japanese cinema experts will examine the proliferation of female filmmakers in the modern Japanese film industry. In doing so, framing debate on the current position of women behind the scenes both in Japan and across the globe.

 

This season has been curated by Irene Silvera Frischknecht as part of the M.A. in Film Studies Programming and Curation at the National Film and Television School in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan in the UK.

 

22 November 2017, 6.30pm : the Embassy of Japan in the UK

Rent-A-Cat (2012) dir. Naoko Ogigami at

 

30 November 2017, 6.30pm : Courthouse Cinema
Bare Essence of Life (2009) dir. Satoko Yokohama

 

1 December2017, 6.30pm : Courthouse Cinema
Death of a Japanese Salesman (2011) dir. Mami Sunada.

 

2 December 2017, 12.00pm : Rich Mix
Wild Berries (2003) dir. Miwa Nishikawa  

 

Free entry booking essencial. Finde out more here.