Before turning to the topic at hand, I wanted to pay a little tribute to the MovieScore Media label. I remember reviewing their very first release, 18 years ago – when I was worried that they were a digital-only label, which I didn’t approve of at the time. (Now I’d be very happy if I […]

The post Kensuke’s Kingdom first appeared on movie-wave.net.

Jo Smyth is an editor, director and writer who creates female-led stories that tackle challenging subjects, from sexual violence to coercive relationships. Last year, she screened Smile as part of our Drama Official Selection. The film follows a woman in her 50s navigating the fallout of sexual assault and day-to-day sexism. We caught up with Jo to learn more about the feminist themes of her work, projects she is currently working on and her love for The Exorcist.

ASFF: Could you introduce yourself and give us a rundown of your filmmaking journey so far?
JS: I’m Jo Smyth and I’ve been directing shorts and webseries for a few years now. Smile got into ASFF in 2023, and my latest short horror, Find You Here, is currently doing this year’s festival circuit. My day job is editing drama for television – which I love. This work also allows me to experience the joy of writing and directing independent film alongside it. 

ASFF: Which film sparked your love of cinema?
JS: The film that made me want to become a director was The Exorcist. Even though I’d looked at other roles, it was watching that film and then hearing William Freidkin talk about how he created this masterpiece – in the documentary afterwards – that inspired me to become a director. To get a group of talented people together and make something that can move an audience to feel and think about a subject differently is a privilege. There is nothing like that feeling, whether its on set, in the final mix review or sitting in an audience at a film festival waiting for the gasp. 

ASFF: What’s a movie you could talk about for hours?
JS: The Exorcist. Or Deliverance – I watched it for the first time about two weeks ago and it is unbelievable. 

ASFF: If you could become any character in cinematic history, who would you choose?
JS: I can’t really think of anyone I’d want to “be.” I’m rather happy paddling my own canoe. As small as my contribution to cinema has been so far, I’m okay with my journey and what I’m making.

ASFF: How do you want audiences to feel whilst watching your films?
JS: How I want them to feel depends on the film. Smile is about assault and the systems that support perpetrators and violence against women, and how we as women are forced to navigate those murky waters daily. I wanted audiences to feel my outrage and uncomfortable enough to talk about it. Find You Here is a horror film about coercive control in a same-sex relationship, so naturally I’d love people to feel unsettled but also to come away a little more aware perhaps. I think for me it’s more about wanting to make people think and ask a question either of themselves or the film, to start a conversation about the topics I’m showing them than wanting to make them feel a specific feeling.

ASFF: Which themes do you find yourself gravitating towards in your projects?
JS: Feminist themes, female lead drama and horror are certainly my happy places. I’m driven by a desire to challenge accepted patriarchal norms and look at these through a female lens in order to show a different angle to what we are used to viewing. 

ASFF: What’s a film genre you haven’t worked with before but would be interested in trying out?
JS: Psychological thriller for sure is a genre or sub-genre I’d love to try because S

Visitors to HippFest will remember that the Bo’ness Fair Queen, who is crowned each year at the fair, has joined us on several occasions at our HippFest Closing Night Gala to award prizes. The Bo’ness Children’s Fair Festival, to give it its official name, was founded in 1897 and continues to be a major cultural event in Scotland, beloved by Bonessians at home, and further afield.

Louis Dixon, the original proprietor of the Hippodrome, produced local topicals for the cinema, making films documenting the fair from as early as 1912 right through to his death in 1960. So to get in the spirit of the fair, and of Louis Dixon himself, We thought it would be fitting to share with you an adapted version of the walking tour led by local historian and archaeologist Geoff Bailey about the Hippodrome architect Matthew Steele!

Architect of the Hippodrome (1911), Matthew Steele has a lasting legacy in the streets of Bo’ness. His practice lasted from 1905-37 and in that time he created many private homes and public buildings in the town, in the Arts and Crafts, and later art deco moderne style. Born in Bo’ness and trained in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Steele worked mainly in Bo’ness throughout his life and his designs are often very recognisable. Adapted from our online video tour released as part of HippFest 2021, this audio production hosted by Geoff Bailey will guide you through Bo’ness to discover the buildings created by this influential architect.

So spend the afternoon in Bo’ness strolling from one building to the other as you listen along; or if you’re tuning in from overseas and are curious about a building, you can do the exact same using Google Maps.

Happy Fair Day to all who celebrate!⁠

• 00:03:57 | Hippodrome Cinema (10 Hope Street Bo’ness EH51 0AA)
• 00:08:07 | South Street (11 South St, Bo’ness EH51 0EA)
• 00:09:41 | Corvi’s and the old Station Hotel (5-7 Seaview Place, Bo’ness EH51 0AJ)
• 00:12:37 | The Star Cinema (17 Corbiehall, Bo’ness, EH51 0AW)
• 00:16:00 | ‘Coffin Close’ (63 Corbiehall, Bo’ness EH51 0AX)
• 00:17:59 | ‘St Mary’s Buildings’ (195 Corbiehall, Bo’ness EH51 OAX)
• 00:19:26 | Seaforth (43 Linlithgow Road, Bo’ness, EH51 0DW)
• 00:21:28 | Matt Steele’s cottages (Dean Road, Bo’ness, EH51 9BH)
• 00:22:42 | The ‘Venetian Houses‘ (Cadzow Cres, Bo’ness EH51 9AY)
• 00:23:45 | Duchess Nina Nurses’ Home (Where Cadzow Crescent and Cadzow Lane connect, Bo’ness, EH51 9AY)
• 00:25:29 | Matt Steele’s bungalows (Cadzow Crescent, Bo’ness, EH51 9AZ)
• 00:26:11 | Masonic Hall (Stewart Avenue, Bo’ness, EH51 9NJ)
• 00:28:03 | Commission Street flats (Main St, Bo’ness EH51 9NG)
• 00:29:29 | Matty Steele Building (South St, Bo’ness EH51 9NF)

Please note that this transcript is generated with the assistance of AI technology and therefore may conta

“The World of the Benshi” World Tour
April 18-20 UCLA Film And Television Archive

Posted by Robin Menken

The Art of the Benshi 2024 World Tour presented by the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, which ran April 5 – 26, 2024, included 12 dates at six venues in five cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

The idea of the ambitious tour was the result of discussions during a three day symposium (and four film/benshi screening) held at UCLA Film And Television Archive, Hammer Museum in 2019.

At the 2019 symposium, Yanai introduced the first group benshi performance seen since 1920. “Not Blood Relations” and “Jiraiya the Hero” were both shown with narration provided by a trio of benshi. The modern benshi’s had never performed in this style, which died out in 1920 as result of criticism by the Pure Film Movement reformists.

To kick off the five performances in LA, The Japan Foundation, LA co-presented with the Yanai Initiative a lecture & demonstration on “The World of the Benshi" at Japan House.

Mr. Ichiro Kataoka, the lead benshi of the tour, gave a short demonstration and answered questions about the artistry and history of this enchanting live performance tradition.

Mr. Kataoka’s collection of rare benshi memorabilia is featured in the exquisite Tour catalogue, available at
https://yanai-initiative.ucla.edu/explore#publications.

Benshi Ichirō Kataoka performed "Blood Spattered Takadanobaba" (1928).

Over the following LA performances, LA devotees
had an opportunity to watch this early action film narrated by the other master benshi, demonstrating the
personal style, humor and didacticism of each performer.

Three scholars, Dr. Kotaro Shibata, Dr. Makiko Kamiya, and Dr. Fumito Shirai discussed the world of benshi – or “movie orators” – and the history of Japanese silent films.

Dr. Kotaro Shibata, who contributed the article "And the Shamisen Played On: Changing Silent Film Music in Japan" to the tour catalogue, showed slides of Japanese silent theaters (which introduced audiences to western music) and discussed the Japanese modifications of western silent film scores and musical arrangements.

Dr. Shibata, touched on the Pure Film Movement which advocated actresses rather than traditional Kabuki style female impersonators and other Western film innovations like closes ups and shorter takes.

Some of the critics of the PFM became directors (like Norimasa Kaeriyama, whose film "The Glow of Life" (1918), which was one of the first films to use actresses (ie: Harumi Hanayagi).

The Pure Film Movement’s attack on benshi lead to some changes. The introductory remarks that benshi's gave prior to the showing of a film, as well as group "kowairo setsumei" died out, leaving a form of setsumei performed by a solo benshi, combining narration, commentary, and performed dialog while the film was showing. This was the setsumei (“explained”) performance style of the Golden Age of benshi (1925-1932).

Dr. Shibata revealed the discovery of Film Narration in countries as diverse as Korea, Russian Czechoslovakia and France, and showed a fascinating clip of Rene Clair's 1947 "Man About Town" AKA "Silence Is Golden".

Employing research materials from the Hirano Collection, Dr. Fumito Shirai discussed how silent film musical-accompaniment scores, imported from overseas, were accepted in Japan and how they were combined with Japanese instruments and musical compositions when used.

In the early days of silent film, Japanese films were
narrated by groups of benshi ("kowairo setsumei”) at the

A comedic filmmaker gets hired by a mysterious producer and he is now struggling to find the perfect cast for the musical. The web series, QAnon: The Musical is a comedy and can be referred to as a mockumentary, which means it’s a documentary that mocks. The goal of this documentary is to satirize the supporters of QAnon who have little knowledge. The fight is against the bad ideas and not the people who are supporting these ideas. The fight is to condemn the ideas related to racism, sexism, anti-LGTBQ and more. The web series QAnon: The Musical is definitely funny but it holds a deeper meaning and is done in a very commercial manner to pass on the message in a subtle but meaningful way.

The music of QAnon: The Musical is definitely worth hearing which is why it is a must to watch this web series. Although this one is fun to watch, what’s really interesting is to see the characters that walk in for the audition. While the director is very much hyped about the project, at the same time, he is wondering how to get the perfect cast to kickstart the project and get working on it. The director receives a letter from the producer who is unknown. The producer here only sends a letter to the director with certain clauses. Only if the director agrees to the set of clauses, rules and instructions would he be able to do the job, which is directing the web series. The director is elated to be a part of the project, which is why he agrees to whatever is given to him. The director first starts with finding the perfect cast for the project.

When the search for the cast starts, the director is aghast as he is finding it greatly challenging to find a person who can sing, dance and act at the same time. He finds great singers, but they just can’t act. He finds great dancers in the audition process, but these dancers turn out to be bad singers. Again, he finds great actors who can stand next to the President and sing, or dance, but the problem is that people who can act can’t sing or dance. This makes things all the more challenging for the director. A dummy President is set up during the audition and the participants are asked to perform and showcase their talents. That’s where people fail and aren’t able to deliver. The auditioning process becomes exhausting for the director, but then all of a sudden two miracles happen during the day.

Yes, on the same day, two participants come for the audition and they are simply excellent. One was a boy named Tamash and the other was a girl named Elena. Both were simply amazing. They could sing, and act, and they were wonderful for the part the director was looking for. Although the reactions of the director are amusing, the look on his satisfied face shows that he was happy and proud to have found the perfect people for his project.

In the end, the web series closes on a happy note as the director is not delighted to find the perfect people for his project. He has zeroed in on these two people after sitting for the audition and finding either incompetent people coming up or sometimes some of them are just not interested in his project or the audition at all. He calls these new talents “NewYork Miracles” and he finds it quite amusing how he found these two miracles on the same day without much effort. The web series closes on a happy note as the director moves ahead with this project with great happiness having found his perfect cast.

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