Cinema Project’s second program of Japanese experimental films—the first presented in May 2013—continues to explore the short works of filmmakers Takashi Ito and Toshio Matsumoto. Once a student and teacher duo, both experimented with techniques of still photography in a number of their films produced during the 1970s and 80s.  Techniques included using time-lapse photography, single-frame shooting, or employing the still photo as both object and extra-dimensional window. The works in this program showcase a wider variety of styles between the filmmakers and dive deeper into themes of spirituality and the personal; examples include Matsumoto’s psychedelic yoga sequence in Phantom and the slow-motion nature shots in Ki or Breathing, or Ito’s strange and longing images of mother and child in Venus.

Programme: - Phantom (Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1975, 16mm, color, sound, 10 min.) - White Hole (Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1979, 16mm, color, sound, 5 min.) - Relation (Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1980, 16mm, color, sound, 9 min.) - Ki or Breathing (Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1980, 16mm, color, sound, 30 min.) - Box (Takashi Ito, Japan, 1982, 16mm, b&w and sepia, sound, 8 min.) - Akuma No Kairozu/Devil's Circuit (Takashi Ito, Japan, 1988, 16mm, color, sound, 7 min.) - Venus (Takashi Ito, Japan, 1990, 16mm, b&w, silent, 7 min.)