Nippon Year Zero: Japanese Experimental Film from the 1960s-1970s
Tuesday 23 November 2010, 20h
London Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
44-46 Pollard Row, London, E2 6NB

Close-Up and Zipangu have collaborated for the 1st annual Zipangu Fest  to put together a programme of Japanese independent and experimental cinema from the 1960s. This special event includes films never before screened in the UK and offers an engaging insight into a decade that was defined by political ferment and avant-garde activity in all sectors of its art world.

The programme invites its audience to an introduction to Japanese experimental filmmaking through the eyes of three landmark figures in the independent art scene. The chosen filmmakers, Donald Richie, Motoharu Jonouchi and Masanori Oe, all capture the zeigeist they were intrinsically a part of, yet articulate themselves in ways that range from the poetic to the abrasive, often mixing the two expressions.

Sound Pattern #1 Violence in the City

Urban Research/ Directors Lounge at
KING KONG Contemporary Art Project, Ehrenhof des Mannheimer Barockschlosses

12-29 November 2010
Opening reception 12 November 19:30
Mannheim Barock Castle

Three guest curators, Klaus W. Eisenlohr (Berlin), Hans W. Koch (Köln) und Thomas Lühr Frankfurt/M.) present video and sound works.

Barock Castle Catacombes: Tom Skipp's 3-channel work Stormwater, which explores Europe's biggest stormwater reservoir before the flood

Container 1: Urban Research Screening and Installation"urban interference and the city’s symbols"
The success of modern cities is connected with relative security and trust in the social contract between citizens. As Jan Philippe Reemtsma states: "If I happen to drop into a violent situation, I will neither be made responsible for not being armed, nor for having failed to defend myself." (memory-quoted). Although this unwritten contract is part of the production of modernity, urban myths and symbols often tell about violent situations. Therefore, films about urban symbols often deal with the uncanny. They thus touch the precarious balance between the violence of law enforcement and undisclosed threats of decay.On the other hand, with urban interventions, artists try to play a more active role in society . Some artists see themselves as "political activist" and try to change politics and society; others just try to reach a different, more divers audience; or, they like to reach out for a seemingly impossible dream. All of them, however, share visions and ideas about urban life. And those inspirations may be infectious!

Videos:
- Seven After Eleven, 2008 (Christina McPhee US)
- Play Ground, 2009 (Rinat Edelstein IL)
- Descend, 2009 (Pablo Useros ES)
- Fragments of the Los Angeles River, 2009 (Richard O’Sullivan UK)
- Elsewhereness: Yokohama, 2008 (Anders Weberg + Robert Willim SW)
- Sintia, (Jose Matiella +Ivan Meza MX)
- Buda, 2009 (Beatriz + Carlos Matiella MX)
- Easy Rider, 2006 (Pilvi Takala FI)
- Jalkeilla Taas (Up And About Again), 2009 (Maarit Suomi-Väänänen FI)
- Amusement Park, 2001 (Pilvi Takala FI)
- Drive, 2008 (Elham Rokni IL)
- Simulacro, 2005 (Hector Falcon MX)
- Moel Yad, 2009 (Hadas Tapouchi IL)
- Night Meter, 2000 (Yaron Lapid UK)
- Interception 2007-2009 (Roch Forowicz PL)
- Stormwater / Estanque de tormentas (Tom Skipp ES)

Curated by Klaus W. Eisenlohr (Directors’ Lounge Berlin)

Links:
KIng Kong
Klaus W. Eisenlohr