Sad and Beautiful World – Introduction of 2 Japanese Films

From The Onion Cellar:

The Onion Cellar proudly presents 2 Japanese films that will be screening at Sad and Beautiful World festival (taking place in Hanoi from the 15th to the 24th of November).

JAPAN IN A DAY (2012)
Philip Martin & Gaku Narita

91 mins
Japanese – with subtitles in Vietnamese and English

20.00 – 15/11 – Hanoi Cinematheque
14.30 – 17/11 – Hanoi Cinematheque 20.30 – 22/11 – Manzi Art Space – 14 Phan Huy Ich

Sunday 11 March 2012 marked the first anniversary of the catastrophic Great East Japan Earthquake. The most powerful earthquake ever to strike Japan caused immeasurable damage not only to the stricken areas, but also to the nation as a whole. To commemorate the tragedy, Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions and Fuji TV collaborated on a project inspired by Kevin McDonald’s Life in a Day, asking people across Japan to pick up a camera and capture something about their day. What shines through are the thoughts, feelings and hopes that the remembrance of this terrible event inspired. The filmmakers fashioned this moving, eloquent testament from more than 8000 films shot by contributors from 12 different countries and uploaded onto YouTube. (BFI)

There’s a sense we are seated on one of Japan’s bullet trains as it speeds through the countryside, giving us blurred glimpses of marathon runners, downhill skiers, sparrows being fed and high-spirited teenagers goofing around on city streets.

A Buddhist monk chants sutra in a temple, an apology from humanity to nature. An elderly couple pick through the reduced-to-rubble house of the woman’s missing best friend, while another man notes that spring’s cherry blossoms are still beautiful. (Hollywood Reporter)

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ay52HqsDXyU[/youtube]

SOUND TO MUSIC (2010)
Tomoyuki Hattori

90 mins
Japanese – with subtitles in Vietnamese and English

14.30 – 24/11 – Red Room @ HRC

SOUND TO MUSIC is a documentary about the Japanese OTO ASOBI project.

OTO ASOBI consists of 16 people with learning disabilities and their families, about 20 artists from various fields, and music therapists. Individuals with learning disabilities include autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome and so on, whose ages range from 8 to 42. They collaborate freely with artists such as free improvisers, pop musicians, butoh dancers, and installation artists. Over 50 guest artists have been involved so far to create new performances. Parents of the people with learning disabilities are also important members who make their own music using cardboard boxes, kitchen utensils, and even hoovers.

“I came to know about OTO ASOBI only very recently, and yet this little intriguing project immediately garnered a great deal of my interest and respect, for its beautiful objective, its humanity, and its tireless efforts in trying to bring an idea not the easiest to realise, into the realm of reality.

Having certain past experiences with individuals with learning difficulties, I am aware of how tricky it must have been to gather all these idiosyncrasies into even the least resemblance to a unit, let alone one that is supposed to play music together, in sonic harmony of an improvisational nature.

Furthermore, how well would the professional musicians get along with the kids? Would the two groups play equal roles in the ensemble, or would the latter simply be dragged along the former’s artistic trails? Would the project be able to achieve its aim of discovering a new language of musical expression?

Happy to report, they succeeded. It is difficult not to be moved by the enthusiasms of all involved. And when came the days of the public performances the whole group were working towards, it was truly a pleasure to witness such coming-together of minds and souls – no distance found between kids, musicians, volunteers, parents, and music’s profound power of connecting people championed, once again.” (Hung Tran)

[youtube]http://youtu.be/iMS2sXgL0hQ[/youtube]

Tickets

Individual screenings: 50,000 VND / 20,000 VND (concession for students (both local and international))

Festival pass (entry to all events): 250,000 VND (pre-order here.)

For all details on Sad And Beautiful World festival, please see www.onioncellar.org/festival, or www.ow.ly/qj0Cy