Shinsedai Cinema Festival 2012 IndieGoGo Fundraising Drive

The Shinsedai Cinema Festival in Toronto has changed venues and needs the support of Japanese film fans in order to get the event off the ground for next summer.  The event is programmed by Chris MaGee of Toronto JFilm Pow-wow and Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye.  I had a really amazing time at the event in August 2010, when I was back on home soil for the summer, and I hope to go again next year.  

Here is the festival's announcement about how you can help:

HELP SUPPORT THE 4TH SHINSEDAI CINEMA FESTIVAL BY CLICKING HERE:
www.indiegogo.com/2012-Shinsedai-Cinema-Festival-Fundraiser

The Shinsedai Cinema Festival is about bringing the work of Japan's new generation of filmmakers to Toronto audiences, filmmakers who in many cases are just like you -- people who are passionate about filmmaking but can't do what they love full time. They support their filmmaking careers by working a variety of jobs; and those who are lucky enough to work full time at filmmaking still face huge obstacles. Without the benefits of a government granting system Japanese independent filmmakers are entirely on their own in terms of funding and production. Even when they have completed a project their avenues to get it seen are limited. As of this year there are only 25 to 30 independent movie theatres operating in Japan. That’s right… in the entire country! That why overseas events like The Shinsedai Cinema Festival are so important, but now you can help make our 4th annual event possible! 

Starting today, Friday, November 4th, 2011, and running for the next 60 days, film lovers like you will be able to help fund what The Toronto Star has called "one of the city's youngest and most original movie events" via our 2012 Fundraising Drive powered by IndieGoGo, the world's largest global funding platform. By January 4th, 2012 we hope we'll have reached our fundraising goal of $7,000, money that will go not only go towards guest relations costs (food, beverages, sightseeing, etc.), but most importantly to pay for roundtrip airfare for our Japanese guests to come and personally present their films to a Toronto audience. 

All we need are 350 film fans to donate $20 each. That's just the cost of one night out at the movies, or the purchase of a single DVD! Those of you who are in the position to donate more are invited to do so, and you will either be able enjoy special perks in exchange, such as free passes for our 2012 festival, or you can choose to receive a tax deductible receipt for the amount of your donation. Regardless of the amount you are able to give all backers of the 4th annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival will be given personal thanks as "Friends of the Festival" on our website and in our printed festival program. 

So, please give and tell your friends about how they can give so that the 4th annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival will be the best festival we've had yet! 

YOU'RE JUST A CLICK AWAY FROM HELPING:
www.indiegogo.com/2012-Shinsedai-Cinema-Festival-Fundraiser 

Animation Has No Borders (1986)

There are many who believe that animation is the purist form of cinema and can function as an international language.  In this spirit in 1986 the Dutch animator Peter Sweenen put together a collaborative animation film called Animation Has No Borders with financial support from cultural institutions in the Netherlands.  Sweenen asked 35 other animators representing 36 different countries to join him in contributing animation to the project.  Each contribution was conceived independently of the other animators and lasts from a few seconds to no more than 15 seconds.  Apart from length, the only instruction given to the animators was that their work should embody the theme of animation not having borders.

The colourful animated shorts were made on 16mm film and range in style from the abstract to the comical.  The works are all hand drawn or painted but with varying techniques and motifs.  Sweenen edited the contributions together and set them to an orchestral score of “The Internationale” as performed by Orkest de Volharding.  “The Internationale” is a famous socialist anthem which was originally written in French.  Watching Animation Has No Borders on Youtube this week, got me thinking about Billy Bragg’s interpretation of the lyrics (c. 1990) and how they capture the current global dissatisfaction with governments, corporations, and financial institutions in these troubling times.  And wouldn’t you know it, but Billy Bragg actually recently joined the Occupy Wall Street movement this week by attending Occupy Dame Street in Dublin and performing a snippet of "The Internationale". 

Billy Bragg's Lyrics to "The Internationale"

Stand up, all victims of oppression

For the tyrants fear your might

Don’t cling so hard to your possessions

For you have nothing, if you have no rights

Let racist ignorance be ended

For respect makes the empires fall

Freedom is merely privilege extended

Unless enjoyed by one and all

Chorus:

So come brothers and sisters

For the struggle carries on

The international

Unites the world in song

So comrades come rally

For this is the time and place

The international ideal

Unites the human race

Let no one build walls to divide us

Walls of hatred nor walls of stone

Come greet the dawn and stand beside us

We’ll live together or we’ll die alone

In our world poisoned by exploitation

Those who have taken, now they must give

And end the vanity of nations

We’ve but one earth on which to live

And so begins the final drama

In the streets and in the fields

We stand unbowed before their fields

We defy their guns and shields

When we fight, provoked by their aggression

Let us be inspired by like and love

For though they offer us concessions

Change will not come from above

At the end of Paul Sweenen’s collaborative animation there are title cards made by the Dutch animator/filmmaker/painter Gerrit van Dijk of the contributing animators names and the flags of their countries.  This time capsule demonstrates just how flimsy nationality is as an identity as many of those flags – particularly the ones from Eastern European countries are now obsolete.  The most poignant of these contributors is the Polish avant-garde filmmaker and artist Julian Antonisz, who passed away just a year after the film was complete.

Representing Japan on Animation Has No Borders, is Taku Furukawa, who has been an enthusiastic participant in the international animation community since the 1960s.  If I did the count right, the images on this post should be from the section that he contributed.  Here is a full list of the contributors and their countries of origin:

 1 Mario García-Montes (Cuba)

2 Julian Antonisz (Poland)

3 Olle Hedman (Sweden)

4 Max Bannah (Australia)

5 Roman Meitsov (Bulgaria)

6 Daniël Schelfthout (Belgium)

7 Shaila Paralkar (India)

8 Mahjoub Zouhair (Algeria)

9 André Lindon (France)

10 Marilyn Cherenko (Canada)

11 Alison Johnston (Scotland)

12 Bob Lin (Taiwan)

13 Krešimir Zimonjić (Croatia)

14 Heikki Paakkanen (Finland)

15 Steve Segal (USA)

16 Frantisek Skála (Czechoslovakia)

17 Vera Moe (Norway)

18 Michalis Arfaras (West Germany)

19 Robert Alder (Austria)

20 Fernando Garza Tamez (Mexico)

21 San Wei Chan (China)

22 Vera Neubauer (UK)

23 Taku Furukawa (Japan)

24 Oliver Georgi (East Germany)

25 Walter Tournier (Uruguay)

26 Alastair McIlwain (Northern Ireland)

27 Vincenzo Gioanola (Italy)

28 Jannik Hastrup (Denmark)

29 Robi Engler (Switzerland)

30 Tsvika Oren (Israel)

31 Jordan Ananiadis (Greece)

32 José Antonio Sistiaga (Spain)

33 Péter Szoboszlay (Hungary)

34 Bob Stenhouse (New Zealand)

35 Marcos Magalhães (Brazil)

36 Peter Sweenen (Holland)

Directed by

Peter Sweenen      

 Orchestra

De Volharding

Produced by

Cilia van Dijk

Sound by

Frits Huges

Titles by

Gerrit van Dijk

Supported by

Cultural Council Noord Holland

Vara Television

Arcadia Film, Bloemendaal

                  Catherine Munroe Hotes 2011

TAKU BODA (タクボーダ/Nice to See You Re-Mix, 2009)

 One of Taku Furukawa’s most admirable qualities is his enthusiasm for playing with technologies both old and new.  His Annecy Special Jury Award-winning film Phenakistiscope (1975) brought the 19^th century optical amusement into the 20^th century and he was one of the first alternative animators to experiment with computer animation with his films Mac the Movie (1985) and Play Jazz (1987).

TAKU BODA (タクボーダ/Nice to See You Re-Mix, 2009) combines the animation genius of Taku Furukawa with the technical wizardry of video game producer and CG animator Noriyuki Boda.  It is a remake of Nice To See You (1975), a wonderful little abstract film that Furukawa made on 16mm.   TAKU BODA starts and ends with the original film which was almost monochrome – just black and green – and had no soundtrack.  The re-mix flips the original film on its head by injecting colour, lively music, and three dimensional CG movement.  The shapes and movement of the original film are placed onto the sides of cubes which roll across a grey on white grid.  The animation is as visually engaging as the accompanying music, with lots of variety of patterns and shape size. 

Nice To See You conveyed a message about how we interpret images; that sometimes we need to change our perspective to see the bigger picture.  A similar message is conveyed by TAKU BODA, but with the added caveat that great art is created not just through exploring the world from different perspectives, but also from being open to new methods and tools.  There are few films that blend old and new animation practices with such harmony as TAKU BODA.

TAKU BODA appears on Takun Films 2, a new release by Anido Films.  The original version of Nice to See You appears on Takun Films 1.  Do encourage Anido to release more gems of Japanese indie animation by shopping in their online shop.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2011