ROHM Theatre Kyoto Film Program

①ARIANE MNOUCHKINE: L’AVENTURE DU THÉÂTRE DU SOLEIL (2009)

At 17:00 on 10. 13 (FRI) and at 15:00 on 10. 15 (SUN)
Director: Catherine Vilpoux
Duration: 75 minutes
In French with Japanese subtitles
A 2009 documentary film by the director Catherine Vilpoux. It follows the path of Théâtre du Soleil from Les Clowns, La Cuisine, 1789 and other early works to Le Dernier Caravansérail and Les Éphémères, with the recordings of the works, rehearsals and backstage, as well as the interviews of Mnouchkine and the company’s actors. A valuable film archive of the lives of Mnouchkine, the extraordinary figure among the theatre directors, and the theatre company.
Special thanks to Arts Network Japan

②TAMBOURS SUR LA DIGUE (2002)

At 13:00 on 10. 14 (SAT)
Text: Hélène Cixous
Director: Ariane Mnouchkine
Duration: 136 minutes
In French with Japanese subtitles
Presented in Théâtre du Soleil’s first performance in Japan in 2001. A great river runs through the middle of an ancient Asian town and the dikes divide the production area from the administrative part of the town. Facing the threat of the flood, the ultimate choice was to be made to break either of the dikes to rescue the other side of the river. An astonishing bunraku-like staging in which the performers are manipulated like puppets by kurogo. A work filled with the director Mnouchkine’s deep homage to Japan.
Distributors: © 2002 Le Théâtre du Soleil / Bel Air Media / ARTE France / CNDP/ ZDF Theaterkanal

Théâtre du Soleil
Founded in France in 1964, Théâtre du Soleil (Theatre of the Sun) is based at La Cartoucherie, a former munitions factory located in a Paris suburb, and known for its uniquely collective approach to creativity. It attracted global attention with 1789 (1970), dealing with the French Revolution and staged in a highly innovative theatrical style. Its wide-ranging repertoire includes classics, masque, and works about contemporary issues like the refugees. It first toured to Japan in 2001, staging Tambours sur la Digue at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, and causing a stir with its bold use of Asian puppetry, especially Japanese bunraku.

③NOWHERE by Dimitris Papaioannou, the Director’s Cut version

At 19:00 on 10. 13 (FRI) and at 11:00 on 10. 15 (SUN)
Concept – Direction: Dimitris Papaioannou
Première (stage performance): 2009, Greek National Theatre (Athens)
Special interview produced by Saitama Arts Theater
Duration: 53 minutes (NOWHERE 40 minutes / Special interview 13 minutes)
This film is made from the stage performance commissioned for the renewal of the Greek National Theatre in 2009. Papaioannou says “I always think about how to overcome the space that challenges human beings” and has boldly choreographed the renewed “stage machinery” and the performers with his overflowing imagination. A scene dedicated to Pina Bausch, “For Pina”, is a must-see. The screening also includes a special interview with Dimitris Papaioannou.

Born in Athens in 1964, Dimitris Papaioannou gained early recognition as a painter and comics artist, before his focus shifted to the performing arts. After studying dance in New York, he formed Edafos Dance Theatre in 1986 as an initial vehicle for his original stage productions, hybrids of physical theatre, experimental dance, and performance art. Papaioannou became widely known in 2004, as the creator of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games. He then created NOWHERE (2009) for the inauguration of the renovated Greek National Theatre, INSIDE (2011) for the Pallas Theater, PRIMAL MATTER (2012) for the Athens Festival, STILL LIFE (2014), the first work that toured extensively around the world. In 2017, he created THE GREAT TAMER, which in 2019 became his first work to be presented in Japan. In 2018, Dimitris became the first artist to create a new, full-length work for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch after the death of its founder. In 2020, Dimitris created and performed a duet piece INK. His latest work TRANSVERSE ORIENTATION (2021) premiered in June 2021 and has also toured Japan in 2022.

④Shiro Takatani - between nature and technology (2018)

At 17:00 on 10. 14 (SAT) and at 13:00 on 10. 15 (SUN)
★There is a talk by Shiro Takatani after the screening on 10. 14 (SAT).
Director, editor and writer: Giulio Boato
Joint writer: Enrico Pitozzi
Producers: Léa Bardet and Pierre-Martin Juban
Featuring: Shirô Takatani, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yuko Hasegawa, Simon Fisher-Turner, Thomas Delamarre, Satoshi Hama, Richard Castelli, Olivier Balzarini, Yuko Hirai, Alfred Birnbaum
Duration: 55 minutes
In Japanese, French and English
Distributors: EUROSPACE / ©Ideale Audience – 2018
Shiro Takatani – between nature and technology is a documentary film which, for the first time, follows Takatani’s work over 30 years. Giulio Boato, an Italian director who is highly regarded for the documentary works on cutting edge artists such as Jan Fabre, unravels Takatani’s evolution and the driving force of his creation in the 30 years of his work, through interviews with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Simon Fisher-Turner and Yuko Hasegawa, who has curated the exhibition “DUMB TYPE ACTIONS+REFLECTIONS” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and the abundant video recordings of his performances and installation works.

Born in 1963, Shiro Takatani was a founding member of the artist collective Dumb Type in 1984. He creates multimedia performances and installations that are performed and exhibited at theatres, museums, and art centers around the world. His many collaborators include Fujiko Nakaya, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mansai Nomura, and Raku Kichizaemon XV – Jikinyū.