The Roxie Theater in San Francisco is presenting NIPPON NIGHTS, a new monthly series dedicated to Japanese cinema. The first season, titled “Neon Tokyo”, throws the spotlight on the popular genre of Anime. The series opens tonight, July 16 with SHORT PEACE, a program of four shorts that includes the 2013 Oscar nominated short “Possessions” and Katsuhiro Otomo’s latest work “Combustible”. Nippon Nights is scheduled to continue in August and September, with AKIRA (on 35mm) directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, on Thursday, August 21st, and TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space & WAKE UP!! TAMALA directed by t.o.L on Thursday, September 25th.
“The Nippon Nights series was conceived in response to Roxie
audience requests for Japanese cinema - particularly Anime films such as Akira
and Tamala" said programmer Fuyumi Saito. "It was logical to kick off
the series with a sampling of animated films that represent the Japanese mastery of this
genre. In a wider sense, Nippon Nights is an effort to shine a light on the richness
of Japanese cinema" Saito said. "We will dramatically bridge different styles,
genres and generations throughout the series, giving local cinephiles the
opportunity to further engage with Japanese cinema, history and culture."
Nippon Nights is curated by Japan native programmer Fuyumi
Saito. The series is endorsed by the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
and co-presented by CAAM. The promotional partner is btrax.
Admission: General $10, Senior $7.5 Shows start at 7:00 pm,
except for AKIRA, on August 21st, which starts at 8:00pm. Tickets will be
available at the door and online at roxie.com.
NIPPON NIGHTS : Neon Tokyo
Schedule and Lineup
JULY. 16th (WED) 7:00pm
SHORT PEACE 68min
Omnibus of animations including Oscar nominated short film
“Possessions” and the one by the creator of “AKIRA”, Katsuhiro Otomo
“Combustible”. Four amazing directors have created four astounding animated
films.
In 1995, Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic anthology MEMORIES showcased
the work of upcoming superstars of the anime world. Now, Otomo’s
spotlight shifts to a fresh generation of master creators with an all-new anthology of
visionary films: A lone traveler is confronted by unusual spirits in an abandoned
shrine in the 2013 Academy Award® nominated POSSESSIONS (TSUKUMO), directed by
Shuhei Morita (COICENT, KAKURENBO). A mysterious white bear defends
the royal family from the predations of a red demon in the brutal GAMBO,
directed by Hiroaki Ando (FIVE NUMBERS!) from REDLINE’s Katsuhito Ishii’s original
story with character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION). The
focus shifts from supernatural to science fiction for the action packed A
FAREWELL TO WEAPONS (BUKI YO SARABA),as MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM designer
Hajime Katoki helms Otomo’s tour-de-forcesaga of men
battlingrobotic tanks in apocalyptic Tokyo, while grandmaster Otomohimself assumes the
directorial reigns for a spectacular tale of love, honor and firefighting in ancient
Japan with the multi-award winning COMBUSTIBLE (HI-NO-YOUJIN). Prepare your senses for
these animated films that are taking the critical world by storm as a new
era in anime is ushered in with Katsuhiro Otomo’s SHORT PEACE!
“COMBUSTIBLE” directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (“AKIRA”)
“POSSESSIONS” directed by Shuhei Morita (Oscar nominated)
“GAMBO” directed by Hirokai Ando
“A FAREWELL TO WEAPONS” directed by HAJIME KATOKI
AUG. 21st (THU) 8:00pm
AKIRA 124min (35mm print)
Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo
Clandestine army activities threaten the war torn city of
Neo-Tokyo when a mysterious being with powerful psychic abilities escapes his
prison and inadvertently draws a violent motorcycle gang into a heinous
web of experimentation. As a result, a biker with a twisted mind
embarks on a path of war, seeking revenge against a society what once called him weak.
The film depicts a dystopian version of Tokyo in the year
2019, with cyberpunk tones. The plot focuses on teenage biker
Tetsuo Shima and his psychic powers, and the leader of his biker gang, Shotaro
Kaneda. Kaneda tries to prevent Tetsuo from releasing the imprisoned psychic Akira.
While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the original
2182-page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs
considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the manga. It became a
hugely popular cult film and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation.
Sep. 25th (THU) 7:00pm
TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 92min
Wake Up!! TAMALA
17min
Directed by t.o.L
“TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space”
“TAMALA”, Japanese animated film about kitten from the
Planet of Cats, who sets out to solve the mystery of her birth. With large eyes and a
cherubic face she is cute enough to make you go crazy for her (until she opens her
mouth, that is!) Don’t be fooled by her innocent face; TAMALA is a real
hell-on-wheels, bitter-sweet punk cat.
“Wake Up!! TAMALA”
In 2010, the new “TAMALA” film project started in
cooperation with one of the world's most famous environmental preservation funds, WWF
Japan. Wakeup!! TAMALA depicts a vision of a crisis
which has seen biodiversity destroyed by human civilization during poetic time travel with TAMALA.
The subject of death and rebirth, as the place of origin of its concept, has been set
in this film with the perspective of the nature conservation.”
The Roxie is the country’s oldest continually operating
theater; turning 100 in 2009. It has been functioning as an independent art house theater
since the 1970s, showing the best of art, music, foreign and documentary
films. In 2009, the Roxie became a certified 501c (3) non-profit. The Roxie is deeply
committed to providing diverse audiences with affordable access to cutting-edge new
works, vital and forgotten older titles, and fiercely independent and
socially conscious programming in an inspiring environment.
