“It is widely believed by historians of Japanese cinema that its experimental film movement began in 1955 with the film, Kinecalligraphy, made by an experimental artists' group, the Graphic Shudan. Previous to this, it is believed there existed groups of individuals in the 1910s who became interested in moviemaking in an amateur sense due to the importation of 16mm movie equipment from the West. In the early 1960s, artists such as Shuji Terayama reintroduced to Japan the surrealist movement of Europe in the 1920s, and a new social awareness of cinema art led to the opening of galleries and theaters where experimental films were shown to the public. The 1970s was perhaps the first decade of true development of the Japanese experimental cinema, and filmmakers such as Toshio Matsumoto and Nobuhiro Kawanaka led the way as important forces which helped shape the Japanese experimental cinema to its present form.” Tatsu Aoki, Programming Director, Innocent Eyes and Lenses
Program I: Train 1 & 2 (Kohei Ando, 1978-80, 9 mins): Ando's obsession with his subject, the train that runs past his house, reveals a timelessness and the subtle terror of a recurring childhood dream. Spacy (Takashi Ito, 1981, 10 mins.): A highly innovative and playful journey, Ito's most famous work. Speed (Taku Furukawa, 1980, 6 mins): An animated piece which takes the viewer through the entire history of the world. Winner of Mainichi Shinbun film contest. Formation (Toshio Matsumoto, 1984, 10 mins): The latest work by one of Japan's early experimentalists utilizes digital delay to fragment a ritual. My Movie Melodies (Junichi Okuyama, 1980, 6 mins): The film's basic structure is revealed kinetically via a “handmade” process of manipulation of celluloid strips. Shelter (Nobuhiro Aihara, 1980, 8 mins): “My own structural world of vision” (N.A.). A Woman with Two Heads (Shuji Terayama, 1977, 15 mins): The late Terayama was one of the most important experimental filmmakers in Japan. He wrote of this work, “I wanted to make a film about the shadow. The shadow is projected on the wall because a figure exists. But there is another dimension to this--the shadow is its own being.” Dream Catalogue (Keiichi Tanaami, 1984, 30 mins): An attempt to recreate the image of a dream.