SPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA@43rdFILMFESTGENT(11-22October2016)

PROFILEFilmFestGentwasestablishedin1974asastudent'sfilmfestival,andhassincedeveloped into one of Europe's most prominent film events. Every year inOctober,thefestivalpresentssome100featuresand30shortsfromallacrosstheworld. A range of different film programs is showcased, attracting over100,000visitors.WithitsFocusonFilmMusicthefestivalestablisheditsuniqueplaceamonginternational festivals.Everyyear, the festivalorganizes filmmusicconcerts,givingcomposersoffilmscorestheplatformtheydeserve.ComposerssuchasEnnio Morricone, Michel Legrand, Gabriel Yared, Elmer Bernstein, Giorgio

Moroder, PinoDonaggio,Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Howard Shore, Georges Delerue,HansZimmer,MauriceJarre,CraigArmstrong,MichaelDanna,GustavoSantaolallaaresomeofthemanyfilmmusiclegendswhohavealreadytakenthestageatGhent.Since 2001, Film Fest Gent has also organized the World Soundtrack Awards, the mostprestigioussoundtrackawards intheworld.Eachyear,thebestsoundtrackcomposersarehonored and receive international recognition for their work. This pioneering role hascertainlyhadanimpact.Ghenthasgrownintoameetingpointforestablishedandup-and-comingmusical talent.Since2004,eventheEuropeanFilmAcademy–encouragedby thefestival-hashonoredthebestEuropeansoundtrackcomposers.TradepaperVarietyplacedtheFilmFestGentinitsTop50mustattendfestivalsoftheworldbecauseof this focusonfilmmusic.AmericanfinancialnewspaperTheWallStreet JournalcalledthefestivaloneofthefiveEuropeanFilmFestivalswithcharacter!

SPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA@43rdFILMFESTGENT2016(11-22October2016)AfterafocusonAmericanIndependents in2013,onFrenchcinema in2014andonBritishcinemain2015,FilmFestGentwillhonourinOctober2016therichnessandinnovativespiritofJapanesecinema.WiththeworkofKiyoshiKurosawa(JourneytotheShore),ShinjiAoyama(Eureka),SogoIshii(LabyrinthofDreams),HirokazuKore’eda(OurLittleSister),KoheiOguri(TheSleepingMan),NaomiKawase(An)andtheintenselyprolificTakashiMiike(YakuzaApocalypse)JapanesearthousecinemacontinuestoinspireinterestandadmirationintheWest,andrightlyso!InourspecialSpotlightonJapanesecinemasome10recentandnewfilmsandBelgianpremièreswillbeselectedasashowcasefortheNewJapaneseCinemadirectorsandforthenextgreattalents.ScreeningsofJapanesefilmsareofcoursenotlimitedtotheSpotlighton Japansection,butwillalsobe included in theother internationalsections:Competition,Galas&Specials,ArtistsonFilm,Classics.

Atthisstageweareinfinaltalkswithlocaldistributorsforthesetitles:AftertheStorm–HirokazuKoreeda–Japan2016Creepy–KiyoshiKurosawa–Japan2016Lafemmedelaplaqueargentique–KiyoshiKurosawa–France/Japan/Belg2016Harmonium–KôjiFukada–Japan2016ThisprogramwillbecompletedbynewandrecentfilmsthroughJapanesesalescompanies.AspartofthisSpotlightinJapanesecinemawealsoplanaretrospectiveofthemostimportantJapanesefilmdirectorofsixtiesNagisaÔshima.Thisfilmswillbeshowninthisprogram:

• DeathbyHangging(Japan1968)• Boy(Japan1969)• TheCeremony(Japan1971)• L’Empiredessens(Japan/France1976)• Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (UK/Japan/N-Zaeland

1983)• Gohatto(Japan/France/UK1999)

WealsoplanseminarsandQ&A’swithJapanesetalentandhopetobeabletoinvitesomekeyJapanesefilmmakersandcomposerstopresenttheirworktoaBelgianaudience.

THEMUSICOFRYUICHISAKAMOTOAsfilmmusicisanimportantaspectofFilmFestGent,wewillalsocelebrateJapanesefilmmusicin our concert programmes. The WorldSoundtrack Academy’s Lifetime AchievementAwardwillbepresentedtoRyuichiSakamotoonOctober 19. A selection of his work will beperformed by Brussels Philharmonic conductedby Dirk Brossé on a unique compilation albumfocusing on Sakamoto's film scores. For thisalbumFilmFestGent launcheda crowdfundingcampaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bringing-r-sakamoto-s-film-music-to-your-ears--2#ArtisticdirectorofFilmFestGentPatrickDuynslaegheronchoosingtheJapanesecomposer:WeareextremelypleasedtowelcomeMr.SakamotonextOctoberattheWorldSoundtrackAwardsGalawherehewillbetherecipientoftheLifetimeAchievementAwardforhisworkasa film composer. With his recent creative collaboration with Mexican director AlejandroG.Inarrituon'THEREVENANT'RyuichiSakamotofoundhimselfagainattheforefrontofthefilmmusicprofession.RyuichiSakamotowasalreadyacelebratedrock-popcomposer/pianist/singerinJapanwhenheconqueredtheinternationalfilmscenein1983withhisscoreforNagisaOshima’s'MerryChristmasMr.Lawrence',afilminwhichhealsostarredalongsideDavidBowie.Eversince,hisworkforleadingJapanese(Oshimaagainfor'Gohatto')andinternationaldirectors(BernardoBertolucci’s 'The Last Emperor', in which he also played a part and for which he won anAcademy Award for best Original Score, 'The Sheltering Sky' and 'Little Buddha'; Brian DePalma’s'SnakeEyes'and'FemmeFatale';PedroAlmodovar’s'HighHeels';VolkerSchlöndorff’s'TheHandmaid’sTale';OliverStone’sproducedtelevisionminiseriesWildPalms)revealedhimasoneofthemostinventivefilmcomposersofourtime.For those films andmanymore Japanese titles that did not get released in theWest, heconceived a unique approach of composing for themovies: a blend of splendidmelodies,synthesizerwork,traditionalorchestralmusic,drumtracks,soundeffectsandunusualmusicalcolors.Outofthestrikingcontrastsofmusicalstylesandcultures,hecreatedstandoutscoresthatwillneverstoptofascinateandenchantus.Additionally,twoJapanesefilmswillbescreenedinaccompaniedbylivemusic:theanimatedclassicBelladonnabyEiichiYamamoto(Japan1973)withlivemusicbytheAmericanrockbandEarthandinco-operationwithArsMusicawearealsoproudtopresentthefilmLesGossesdeTokyobyYasujirôOzu(Japan1932)forwhichcomposerGwenaëlGrisimadeanewscore.Thisprojectwillget itsworldpremière inOctober inGhentandwillbeperformed later inBrusselsaspartoftheArsMusicafestival.

WHYASPOTLIGHTONJAPANESECINEMA?IntrobyPatrickDuynslaegher,ArtisticDirectorFilmFestGentBecauseJapanesecinemaisoneoftheworld’sgreatestnationalfilmindustriesandinrecentyearsmanyimportantnewJapanesefilmsandfilmmakershaveemerged.SinceAkiraKurosawafirstbroughtJapanesefilmstointernationalattention,somesixtyyearsagowithRashomonwinningtheGrandPrixatthe1951Venicefilmfestival,theaudienceintheWesthasdiscoveredoneoftheworld’sgreatestnationalcinemas.Internationaltouringretrospectives devoted to such classical directors as Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, AkiraKurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, Masaki Kobayashi, Mikio Naruse revealed a country of masterfilmmakers.‘TheJapanesecinemacannoteasilybedefined,anymorethatcanthecountrythatproducedit,’notesAlexanderJacobyinACriticalHandbookofJapaneseFilmDirectors.‘The neon and concrete city is as “typically Japanese” as the forestedmountain; the zengardenasthepachinkoparlor;theNohtheatreasthecomicstrip.Itisunsurprisingthatthiscontradictorycountryhasproducedacinemaofgreatrangeandscope.Japanesefilmscanbeamong theworld’smost tender or the world’smost violent; they can be understated ormelodramatic,leisurelyorhectic;insubjectmattertheyspanmorethanathousandyearsofhistoryandeverygenre.TheJapanesecinema,inphasesbothofindustrialandindependentproduction,hasbeenadirector’scinema–whichistosaythatitiscinemainwhichindividualartistshavebeenabletosustaintheircreativityandtoexplorepersonalconcerns.Andthiscreativityhasbeenremarkablyrobust.’‘OutstandingfilmmakershavebeenatworkinJapanfromthetwentiestothepresentday;there are periods of more and less consistent achievement, but Japanese directors havesucceeded in producing distinguished films in every decade, despite social changes andvaryingpoliticalandeconomicpressures.’The generation of newdirectors that began to emerge in the late 1950s and early 1960srebelledagainstwhattheyperceivedasanincreasinglyformulaicstudiosystem.‘TheywerethefirstartiststorejecttheworkoftheireldersandlookoutsideofJapaninsearchofanewaesthetic,’writesStuartGalbraithIVinhisbookJapaneseCinema.ThemostfamousamongsttheJapaneseNewWavewasNagasiÔshima,butthisgroupalsoincludedMasahiroShinoda,SusumoHani,YoshishigeYoshidaandShoheiImamura.Oshimamade a cycle of films showing violent youth in revolt and examined the hypocrisies ofJapaneseracismandcapitalpunishmentinDeathbyHanging(1968).Hisexplorationsofcrimeand transgressive sexuality culminated in The Realm of the Senses (1976), the mostprovocativefilmofthemostformallyinnovativedirectorofhisgeneration.Japanesecinemahasalsoarealknackforfantasticcinemaandcrimemovies,rangingfromthegiant-monster-movie(Godzilla)tothegangsterfilmsofTakeshiKitano,thegrittyyakuzamoviesofKenjiFukasakuand theeerie ‘J-horror’ofHideoNakata.Andofcourseanime_Japaneseanimatedfilms_hasconqueredaworldwideaudience,withthefilmsofKatsuhiroOtomoandHayaoMiyazakilaunchingtheanimeboomintheWest.