Events Calendar

Nikkatsu at 100

Admission is free.

For a complete festival schedule and to RSVP, go to: http://cinema.usc.edu/Nikkatsu.

On September 10, 2012, Japan’s Nikkatsu Film Studio will celebrate its 100th anniversary. One of Japan’s oldest and most acclaimed film studios, the Nikkatsu libraries contain approximately 3,300 film titles, including some of the most important Japanese films from the silent era to the classical period, from the postwar era to the new wave, and up to the current renaissance of Japanese cinema. Nikkatsu’s collection includes period pieces, samurai films, melodramas, youth films, gangster films, “pink” movies, horror films and contemporary blockbusters, with major critical and box-office successes in each of those areas. This three-day event will draw from Nikkatsu’s library to celebrate 100 years of Japanese cinema, and will include screenings and discussions with filmmakers, scholars and critics on Nikkatsu’s enduring legacy in Japan and its historical place in the film world.

Schedule of events:

Friday, October 26:

7 p.m.: Opening remarks by Elizabeth M. Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Ph.D., Professor of Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Naoki Sato, President and CEO of Nikkatsu Corportation.

7:20 p.m.: Surprise film premiere from director Hideo Nakata (Ringu, Dark Water), co-presented by The Cinefamily, followed by Q&A with the director.

10 p.m.: Reception

Saturday, October 27

11 a.m.: The Burmese Harp (1956) 116 minutes, directed by Kon Ichikawa.

1:15 p.m.: The Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (1957) digitally restored version, 110 minutes, directed by Yuzo Kawashima.

3:30 p.m.: Rusty Knife (1958) 90 minutes, directed by Toshio Masuda.

6 p.m.: Panel discussion: Nikkatsu and the World of Japanese Entertainment, with Sandy Climan, CEO of All Nippon Entertainment Works Inc. (ANEW); Akira Mizuta Lippit, Ph.D., Professor of Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts; Hideo Nakata, Director of Ringu and Dark Water; Naoki Sato, President and CEO of Nikkatsu Corporation. The panel will look at the rich history of Nikkatsu's one hundred years and uses the occasion to both reflect on Nikkatsu's contributions to Japanese film culture and to assess the place of Japanese entertainment today in Japan and abroad. Panelists include key members of the Japanese film and entertainment communities who can best speak to the rich history of Nikkatsu and Japanese cinema as well as look forward to new horizons in Japanese film and media.

8 p.m.: Lovers are Wet (1973) 76 minutes, directed by Tatsumi Kumashiro.

Sunday, October 28

12 p.m.: The Insect Woman (1963) 123 minutes, directed by Shohei Imamura.

2:15 p.m.: Retaliation (1968) 94 minutes, directed by Yasuharu Hasebe.

5 p.m.: Panel discussion: The Global Studio at 100 with Richard B. Jewell, Ph.D., Professor of Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Other panelists TBA. This panel discussion will feature key figures from the global film-studio community as they reflect on how the studio system shaped global cinema throughout the 20th century and how it has changed.

7 p.m.: Suzaki Paradise: Red Light (1956) 81 minutes, directed by Yuzo Kawashima.

8:30 p.m.: Tattooed Life (1965) 87 minutes, Directed by Seijun Suzuki.

Organized by the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Co-sponsored by Nikkatsu Corporation, the Japan Foundation Los Angeles, the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles, Japan Film Society, the Center for Japanese Religions and Culture and the East Asian Studies Center. Nikkatsu at 100: A Centennial of Japanese Cinema is produced by Akira Mizuta Lippit, Alessandro Ago and Mike Dillon for the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.edu

Location: Eileen L. Norris Cinema Theatre (NCT) - Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Daria Yudacufski