ARTicle Films
FILM FETISH
Introduction
Since making his directorial debut in 1964, Japanese experimental filmmaker Junichi Okuyama has been making films for almost sixty years. His films have been screened and showcased at many international film festivals and cinematheques including Paris, Chicago, Oberhausen, Lyone, Melbourne, Krakow, and Hong Kong. His latest works are screened at domestic experimental film festivals, such as Imageforum Film Festival almost every year. He actively shows his works in museums and galleries, as well as presents, and live performances. Okuyama is known as the pioneer of constructive cinema.
In his mid-70s, Okuyama has been making his experimental films using various film cameras and film stocks and exploiting developing and editing processes. However, after 2000, films have gone digital, and film stocks manufacturer and film labs steadily decreased. Facing the loss of raw materials for his works, Okuyama has decided to retire from filmmaking.
The director and film critic, Yu Kaneko who specializes in experimental and documentary films, has decided to make a film about Okuyama. Kaneko has recently made “A Man Who Became Cinema”(2018), a documentary film about the Avant-Garde documentary filmmaker, Masato Hara. Since 2014, Kaneko has started shooting and documenting Okuyama, interviewing Okuyama himself and people around him, and following his creative process. Kaneko tries to portray Okuyama and his works in their entirety, by including his new prints as well as rare works and footage.
Believing that “a documentary film about the experimental filmmaker should be experimental,” Kaneko has tried to incorporate methods of direct cinema and creative documentary and spent eight years shooting and editing the film. “Film Fetish” is an exceptional film about the extraordinary filmmaker who is obsessed with film stocks, and not afraid to show his love for the medium.
Film Fetish
Story
The filmmaker Junichi Okuyama puts together the old 9.5 mm and 16mm films together inside his home which he also uses as his studio space. He goes to nearby woods and shoots his latest work, using Bolex and 9.5 mm cameras. Then he develops film prints in the bathroom at his home. In the process of developing and editing, he scratches the print and creates his work.
Okuyama has also done many performance works. In his performance piece “FILMUSICA, ” Okuyama uses a film projector as a musical instrument. He slides film print on the sound head of the broken 16 mm film projector to create his noise music. In the other performance piece “HUMAN FLICKER”, Okuyama uses two projectors to screen the image of the eye closed, and the other image of the eye opening. He shuts the projector with the fan and physically closes and opens his eyes on the screen.
The film “Film Fetish” chronicles the history of Okuyama’s experimental films in three chapters, “Film Deconstruction Project,” “Film Construction Project,” and “Film Discovery Project.” In the film, Okuyama’s representative works such as “Le Cinema” and “My Movie Melodies” are presented in new prints. Okuyama himself talks about his creative process and methods, and his critic talks about the meaning of Okuyama’s works.
In the exhibition, “Junichi Okuyama – the Creator of Light and Illusion” held at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Okuyama presented many projectors and film prints. However in recent years, many film labs are closed, and film manufacturers stopped making film stocks. This situation made it very difficult for Okuyama to continue making his work, and he declared his retirement from filmmaking.
Okuyama held his last show “9.5 mm One Man Film Festival 2019” at his home. Since 9.5 mm and other film projectors are fragile and difficult to be transported, Okuyama has decided to hold the film festival at his home. Okuyama plays Shamisen and sings along to the new work shot with a 9.5 mm film. Okuyama doesn’t seem to be sad about retiring but seems to be joyous playing around with films.
66 mins/Japanese/Color/Digital/2022
Cast: Junichi Okuyama, Yo Ota, Tomohiro Nishimura
Director/ Camera: Yu Kaneko
Editor: Yukie Mochizuki
Music: Henry D. Pool
Creative Producer: Emi Ueyama
Director’s Statement
I have started collecting 8mm and 16 mm film projectors and prints since my college year in 1995. I made my first experimental short film and the film was screened at a film festival in Europe in 1997. Then I made a 16mm medium-length feature film, but it cost me over couple thousand dollars in production and post-production, and took me five years to finish. After that I stopped making regular films, and started making video dairies and documentaries using 8mm film and video. I was so in love with film prints that I started writing about experimental films.
I interviewed many Japanese experimental filmmakers for my book, “Filmmakers – How to Make Private Films.” Among those I interviewed, Junichi Okuyama was the most radical artist, so I started shooting his open talk and screenings. Then Okuyama started talking about retiring, so I decided to make a documentary film about him, and shot additional footages from 2017 to 2019. However, due to global pandemic, I had to postpone the production for a while. Then I shot additional footaged and finished editing in June 2022.
As a researcher in experimental films, I created “Film Fetish” in order to document the extraordinary works and constructive process of Junichi Okuyama for the posterity. I also wanted to show Okuyama’s works which can be only screened with film projectors, to filmmakers and researchers overseas. Through my film, I hope there will be more people who will be interested in Okuyama’s works.
Artist’s Biography
Junichi Okuyama
Born in 1947, in Tokyo. Okuyama is a legendary filmmaker in the Japanese experimental film world. Since his debut work “MU” in 1964, Okuyama has done works consistently about film as contracts. He is known as the creator who focuses on the film itself and creates works about film stocks, cameras, projectors, and processing. Okuyama has also done many live performances and installations about this theme.
Okuyama’s deconstructive and reconstructive film works are highly regarded, and he was awarded Silver Award at Chicago International Film Festival in 1971 with his film, “No Perforations.” Okuyama has presented new works almost every year at Imageforum Film Festival. In 1998, he had a solo exhibition at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. His works are featured in many renowned international film festivals such as Paris, Oberhausen, Lyonne, Melbourne, Krakow, and Hong Kong. In recent years, Okuyama has done many live music performance incorporating the traditional musical instruments such as Shamisen, and creating humorous pieces that could be enjoyed by the wide audience.
Credit
Cast: Junichi Okuyama, Yo Ota, Tomohiro Nishimura
Director/ Camera: Yu Kaneko
Editor: Yukie Mochizuki
Music: Henry D. Pool
Creative Producer: Emi Ueyama
English subtitles: Mayu Nakamura
Photo and video coutersy: Junichi Okuyama
Special Thanks: Kikue Okuyama, Tama Art University
