Shozo Ichiyama: Both Sides Now Talent Spotting and Co-Production
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SHOWCASE CINEMA SHOZO ICHIYAMA: BOTH SIDES NOW TALENT SPOTTING AND CO-PRODUCTION SHOWCASE CINEMA SHOZO ICHIYAMA: BOTH SIDES NOW TALENT SPOTTING AND CO-PRODUCTION CONTENTS 3 SCREENING SCHEDULE 4 SHOZO ICHIYAMA 6 SHOZO ICHIYAMA’S JOURNEY 14 FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI (OPENING FILM) 16 CHASUKE’S JOURNEY 18 THEY SAY NOTHING STAYS THE SAME 20 THE CALMING 22 THE HORSE THIEVES: ROADS OF TIME 24 A TOUCH OF SIN (CLOSING FILM) 26 THE COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY OF SHOZO ICHIYAMA 32 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 SHOWCASE CINEMA SCREENING SCHEDULE MONDAY APRIL 12 5pm Flowers of Shanghai (Hai Shang Hua) 1998 TUESDAY APRIL 13 3pm Chasuke’s Journey (Ten No Chasuke) 2015 WEDNESDAY APRIL 14 3pm The Horse Thieves: Roads of Time 2019 THURSDAY APRIL 15 3pm The Calming (Ping Jing) 2020 5pm They Say Nothing Stays the Same (Aru Sendo No Hanashi) 2019 FRIDAY APRIL 16 3pm Shozo Ichiyama interviewed by Professor Herman Van Eyken. Followed by drinks 5pm A Touch of Sin (Thian Zhu Ding) 2013 SHOZO ICHIYAMA: BOTH SIDES NOW 3 SHOZO ICHIYAMA ICHIYAMA -SENSEI would have been He often found this emerging talent oversees, one of the titles for this new Cinema and properly assessed the possibility to help Showcase, entirely dedicated to the these talents by (co)-producing and promoting amazing talent of this Japanese the great work he made possible for them. master, who leads us the way to so many endeavours, dear to us at GFS, such as incubating emerging talent, exploring cross border collaboration, transnational storytelling, curating exquisite filmmaking from our vibrant Asia Pacific region, all built on his passion for good cinema. I had the pleasure to meet him as the go between person for me, the Asia Europe Foundation, and one of Japanese finest masters, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, back in 2006. Kurosawa Having produced over 26 long feature films, was one of the artists we had chosen to be often directorial debuts, he has won countless part of a European and Asia-Pacific pilot prestigious awards in all major film festivals – series of masterclasses I was curating for one of these very close here in Brisbane at the CILECT, the world association of film and media 2018 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, where he schools. He was the humblest in his efforts, was able to collect the Best Performance by an but meticulously perfect in the delivery of his Actress Award for Zhao Tao in Jia Zhangke’s free services, all for the sake of promoting Ash is the Purest White. Indeed, he was then our good cinema. I only found out later, what he very own guest to come and discuss an initiative carefully hided from me: he was a producer at to seek and develop a joint venture to provide Office Kitano, where he was able to combine his professional training with the Asia Pacific film work as a producer and a prolific talent scout. schools in countries from our region where such a training was not available. This initiative is soon running a pilot version in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At the same time, we were able to tap into his formidable talent as a producer to mentor, as an Asia Pacific Screen Academy member, one of our Japanese recipients of our very own Asia Pacific Screen Lab. 4 SHOWCASE CINEMA It is therefore not surprising Ichiyama- sensei was awarded the prestigious 2019 Kawakita Award from the Kawakita Memorial Institute for his significant contribution to the development of Japanese Cinema, and the diffusion of Japanese Culture through film. The impact and influence of this great master is indeed not to be underestimated and this year – only a few weeks ago – he was given the new role of Head Programmer of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), after he had left this very Festival many years ago to found its rival Tokyo Filmex. In this intervening period, Ichiyama-sensei indeed has become a renown independent producer, closely aligned with some who have become giants of the Asian Cinema scene including Jia Zhangke, Hou Hisao-hsien and Kitano Takeshi. We may expect TIFF will be re-examining its approach to programming. One thing we know already, and again this a great achievement in itself, on March 8th, International Women’s day, TIFF has signed the Gender Parity Pledge as part of a major shakeup. By doing What an extraordinary personality; and it so, it commits to transparency on matters is with great pride, we present, here at the including film selection, committee members, Griffith Film School, what we think is a first film directors, cast and crew. Japan has an ever ‘retrospective’ of his work in Japan and enduring legacy of male power and privilege; beyond. Indeed, he finds it ‘very interesting that therefore, we can only applaud this move. film crew and cast from different countries Prolific film producer, powerful film work together…sometimes it will change their curator, he is also a visiting professor of career… As long as everyone stays honest.’ the excellent Tokyo University of Arts film So, do we, sensei! school, and is turning full circle. In his own words, he is guided by a ‘kind of intuition’ Enjoy the work of this master and do not as you can read in the excellent interview miss his masterclass on the closing day. in this booklet by our celebrated curator I definitely won’t. Philip Cheah. Be it as producer or curator, he is always on the lookout for ‘something Professor Herman Van Eyken new’. And then, he is there to help… Director, Griffith Film School SHOZO ICHIYAMA: BOTH SIDES NOW 5 SHOZO ICHIYAMA’S JOURNEY Before I first met Shozo Ichiyama it was Kashiko who introduced the legendary over 20 years ago, the legend was filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu’s cinema to him. Today, this – he was a true film buff, someone the Institute is still a meeting point for foreign who lived and breathed cinema 25 festival programmers to preview the latest hours a day, more than any ordinary Japanese films. That aspect of Ichiyama’s own life is reflected in his career as a film fan. His passion was for film and he programmer when he was in charge of selecting lived daily for it till he went to sleep films for the Tokyo International Film Festival each night. That was what everyone from 1992 to 1999. In 2000, he launched the then said about him. Later when I Tokyo FILMeX film festival (intended as an met him, I found it to be true. During alternative film festival) and served as the conversations, at the mention of director. One core aspect of the festival’s cinema, his face would light up. programme is a dedicated retrospective to important Japanese directors in history. For There must be more than a morsel of truth example, in 2005, the FILMeX mounted a 12-film in this legend and Ichiyama’s career is clear retrospective of Nobuo Nakagawa on the 100th testimony and proof. He has produced over 26 anniversary of his birth, with 10 newly-struck feature films to date, won countless awards film prints. That kind of dedication mirrors including the Kawakita Award in 2019. This is and continues the efforts of the Kawakitas significant as the Kawakita Memorial Institute who made available again forgotten cinema. awards annually to an individual, who has significantly contributed to the development Born in 1963 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, of Japanese cinema, and to the diffusion of Ichiyama graduated from Tokyo University. Japanese culture over the years, through films. Ichiyama joined Shochiku in 1987 and started to work as the producer for films such as Violent That influence and impact can be clearly seen Cop (1989) by Takeshi Kitano, Nowhere Man in his films. For Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Flowers (1991) by Naoto Takenaka and three films by of Shanghai, Japanese actress Michiko Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Good Men, Good Women (1995), Hada took a leading role. For Kazakhstan Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996) and Flowers director Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, Ichiyama recommended Japanese actor Mirai Moriyama to play a leading Kazakh role and supported Japanese filmmaker, Lisa Takeba’s wish to work with Nurmukhambetov. The Kawakitas as a family were instrumental in internationalising Japanese cinema. The mother, Kashiko Kawakita was both a film producer and film curator (as Ichiyama is today). In 1948, the Kawakita couple first met American film critic, Donald Richie, and 6 SHOWCASE CINEMA of Shanghai (1998). Ichiyama once said: “For myself, I was just a movie fan before I joined Shochiku Film Studio. I saw many films when I was a university student. I majored economics in Tokyo University – it had nothing to do with filmmaking. When I entered Tokyo University, I started to regret, I should have entered some cultural department! I lost interest in economics. I was more fascinated by cultural stuff - music, art and filmmaking. Actually, I was born and raised in the countryside. I didn’t have many opportunities to know this kind of cultural stuff his early movies. He couldn’t find money in until I entered Tokyo University in early 1980s. China, so I tried in Japan and Europe. It was But later, after I went into the film industry, hard work for me, but the result was very many things I learned in the university helped nice, and all his films were accepted in Cannes, a lot, because I have many memories of the Venice and other film festivals. We received films I saw. Sometimes, it helped my work.” In good reviews from European critics. But at fact, this clue about Ichiyama’s balanced life first, it was hard for me to raise the money.” between economics and the arts could explain why he is such a highly-esteemed producer Since 2013, Ichiyama became a visiting today.