Cinema/Movement Conference

A quick reminder that the Cinema/Movement conference commences today at 2P.M. in the Mirkopoulos cinema (ACE 004). Speakers include Hirasawa Go, Anne McKnight and Sharon Hayashi. The conference will run from 2P.M. to 5P.M.

At 7P.M. screenings of Hi Red Shelter Plan, Wols, Gewaltopia Trailer and Shinjuku Station will be held. The screenings will be introduced by Johnathan Hall (UC Irvine) and total running time is 63 minutes.

Hope to see you there,

Jason

Cinema/Movement Screenings

I am pleased to announce that Ciné Club, in conjunction with the Department of Film at York University, will be screening three 16mm prints of rare Japanese films. As a part of the Cinema/Movement conference and screening series being held 12 Nov-19 Nov, we have the fortune of access to three wonderful films, Rice Bowl, PouPou and Crazy Love.

This Monday 12 November we will be screening two films produced by the Nihon University Cinema Club, Rice Bowl and PouPou. Screenings will be held in Room 135 in the Centre for Film & Theatre beginning at 6:00 P.M.

The Nihon University Cinema Club (Nichidai Eiken) was an organization formed in 1957 by Hirano Katsumi, Kanbara Hiroshi, Ko Hiro, and Jonouchi Motoharu. Employing a collective production method that eschewed the name of the author, the group mixed documentary and surrealist tendencies to confront the increasing political tensions arising in Japan.

Sparked by the security treaty with the US (Anpo) the group reformed and Wan (1961) was the first work by the newly formed collective. Through a narrative of matricide in a country village, the film metaphorically critiqued the failure to prevent the security treaty, its restrained black and white compositions and lack of dialogue projecting the darkly oppres- sive spirit of the time. According to Iimura the surrealist poem-exercise Pou Pou is a “film describing some unusual acts by youths attempting to break out of the stifl ing patterns of culture... daydreaming that yields them nothing. A mob of children enact a burial rite; the place of the ‘corpse’ is taken by one of the rebellious youths... Beautiful and rare images... one of the best Japanese films.”

On Monday 19 November we will screen Crazy Love by director Okabe Michio at 6 P.M. in 135 CFT.

Okabe Michio began his career in the fine arts. Inspired by the works of Kenneth Anger and the American underground, he gravitated towards fi lmmaking. Crazy Love was his second work and the fi rst feature length underground fi lm in Japan. Eschewing narrative and meaning, Okabe instead layered the fi lm with the music he liked from the Beatles and James Brown to Enka and Group Sounds and peopled it with friends and artists, inserting sequences of performances and happenings, making it a true document of the Shinjuku underground scene. Okabe himself appears recreating his favorite roles from Bonnie and Clyde to Spaghetti Westerns, as well as incorporating quotations by inserting stills of Godard, Kennedy’s assassination and the Vietnam War. Correlated with Susan Sontag’s theorization of kitsch as well as employing the queer lingo of “camp,” the film’s relentless equal opportunity pop-art montage shattered the foundations of conventional cinema, including the experiments of the early 60s, liberating infinite new possibilities.

For a full list of conference and screening times and dates please click here.



Special thank you to Sharon Hayashi

CineSiege

Next Monday 29 October is CineSiege "a juried showcase screening of outstanding productions of 2006-2007 by talented young filmmakers in York University's Department of Film". (via YorkU Film)

Given the occasion we are cancelling Monday's screening and encouraging everyone to attend CineSiege.





CineSiege 2007
October 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm
The Royal - 608 College St. Toronto
Free admission

A second chance mon amour...

On Monday 22 October we will be screening Alain Resnais' 1959 film Hiroshima mon amour at 6:30 P.M. in the SMIL screening room.

Allow the nouvelle vague inspire you...

On Monday 15 October we will be screening Alain Resnais' 1959 film Hiroshima mon amour at 6:30 P.M. in the SMIL screening room.

Roughly fifty years ago groups of young cinema fans met at ciné clubs like ours and watched movie after endless movie. Some of these film lovers started the cahier du cinéma and eventually became some of the most acclaimed film makers of any generation. It all started with watching films. Be us production or studies students, we are all here because we love to watch movies. They entertain us; make us cry and make us laugh; scare us; teach us; and most of all, change us. Movies shape who we are, open our eyes and show us the world in a different way each time we gaze at the screen. It all begins with watching. Ask any famous director and you'll get a story about the first film that was his inspiration. How can we better ourselves as filmmakers and film scholars if we do not watch films.

Ciné Club is here for all of us, to provide a forum to watch and discuss films outside of the classroom environment. You can bring your ideas, your thoughts and even your favourite movies to the club to an atmosphere that welcomes discussion. If you are a production student you can learn some neat tricks to use in your next film or discuss film-making ideas with other students. As a studies student you can rub off of the production folks and share with them ideas on how to make smarter films. Best of all we can get together and work as a team, without the lines that separate our two programme streams. We can contribute to each other, take up projects together. In Ciné Club we are all on equal ground because we all love film.

Ciné Club needs new members. We need individuals who will join us in making this club one that is available and a benefit to all film students. We are not just a group that screens films. We are comprised of individuals willing to fight to secure film students opportunities and events that would otherwise pass us by. We are interested in inviting guest speakers, in bringing in rare and interesting films, and providing students with an opportunity to present their own works. We will be working on a programme of short films and hopefully this will include works by fellow undergraduate and graduate students. Yet, we need your support to make this happen. If you are interested in helping us out, either as an active group member who will participate in organising events, as a rep for your year, or simply as a voting member with no other obligations, we are interested in hearing from you. Please contact us and let us know who you are and what interests you about film and Ciné Club. Help us make Ciné Club something we can all be proud to be a part of.

Sincerely,

Jason and Kerry-Anne

Taking a break...

Well it seems that the approaching Monday is Thanksgiving. Sadly, this means we will not have access to the screening room until the following week. So far, the films in the running for the 15 of October are Alain Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour or L'Année dernière à Marienbad.

Enjoy the Monday off and for those of you who celebrate, have a happy Thanksgiving.

A week of events...

This week we have Ozu Yasujiro's Floating Weeds (1959) - 6:00 P.M.

As added excitiment next Friday, Oct.5th, a team of cultural critics, art historians, and film scholars will be visiting York University. They will be lecturing on the new New Wave of Chinese Cinema, on the philosophy in Chinese scroll painting, and on teaching Fine Arts in China.

York International and York Fine Arts will be hosting three guests from the School of Arts at Peking University.

ASPECTS OF THE ARTS IN CHINA: THE INSIDER'S EYE

Friday October 5 2007

9:30-11:00 ACCOLADE EAST 004
Dr. Peng Jixiang, Associate Dean, School of Arts, Peking University
"EMBRACING THE FOURTH SIGNIFICANT WAVE OF CHINESE CINEMA"
on Friday mornings and so I tried to get this lecture into the afternoon, but I
did not succeed.>

11:30-1:00 GCFA 312
Dr. Ding Ning, Associate Dean, School of Arts, Peking University
"JOURNEY THROUGH CHINESE ART: LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY IN SCROLL PAINTING"

2:30-4:00 GCFA 214 (Faculty Lounge)
Dr. Ye Lang, Dean, School of Arts, Peking University
"THE TRADITION OF TEACHING THE FINE ARTS IN PEKING UNIVERSITY"

This is a unique opportunity so please inform anyone who would be interested in the lectures. Let's try to give these guests a warm welcome to York University.

16mm Renoir...

Exciting news...we will be projecting a 16mm print of Renoir's Partie de campagne at Monday's screening.

Off to a good start...

Thank you to everyone who came to the first screening of the year. It was great to see you again.

I'm happy to announce that the next screening will be a double bill. We will be continuing the French Poetic Realism theme with another Jean Renoir film Partie de campagne at 5:30 P.M. Following that at 6:30 P.M. will be Howard Hawk's His Girl Friday. If you are interested in screenwriting, don't miss this excellent example of fast paced classical Hollywood writing. The brilliance of the dialogue articulates itself in a way that I can not hope to match! To find out what I mean you'll just have to be there.

The poll will be open for one more week. Don't forget to vote and let us know what you would like from your Ciné Club. Furthermore, please submit your comments, ideas and film choices using the text submission box on the right side of the page. Anyone wishing to be placed on the weekly mailing list please use the form to submit your e-mail address. We promise not to spam you (cross my heart, hope to die).

Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday!

Welcome to Ciné Club

Welcome to the blog page for Ciné Club. If you have found your way here, no doubt you did so after hearing about us in one of your film classes. Perhaps you heard it directly from one of the club members or one of your friends. Regardless, we are happy you have decided to check out Ciné Club.

Although we are still working it out, our group philosophy is simple: the primary way we can better ourselves as film makers and theorists is by watching film. Despite the fact that some of us are watching up to four or five films per week in class, many feel that is not enough. Ciné Club is an opportunity to sneak in an extra film each Monday night. The best part about it is that the programming will be chosen by you and other students like you. If there is a film you wish to share and discuss with your fellow students, Ciné Club is the ultimate forum.

Ciné Club is a friendly environment that promotes active participation with film. We are not centred solely in production or studies. In fact, we promote a greater integration of both so that students can share their unique perspectives. To that end, we have made it a point to create a group that is run in equal part by both production and studies majors. Thus we, as the executive members of the group, embrace both perspectives and hope that each side of the film programme at York will have an equal opportunity to bring ideas to the table.

In time, our aim is to expand the scope of Ciné Club to provide you with more than a time and a location to watch films. We are in early stages of discussion, but several possibilities are in the air. Many of them depend on what you would like to gain from the club. On the upper right hand side of this page you will find a short poll asking you to answer that question. Please take the time to fill out the poll and let us know what your expectations are. You can chose more than one answer and if what you want is not there simply respond to this entry by clicking on comments.

Our first screening of the year will be Renoir's The Rules of the Game (1939) and will be held at 6 P.M. Monday 17 September in the SMIL screening room. Don't sweat it if you heard about the screening late and could not make it. A bigger, more official start to the year will be held the following week on the 24, after the executive members of Ciné Club have had a chance to visit your classes and fill you in on further details.

We hope to provide you with an opportunity to engage with film and to partake in a year long discussion about a subject we all hold dear to our hearts. For now, we would ask that you respond to this post or use the contact form on the right. Let us know your ideas for the club and a short list of the top five films you would like to see or you would like to expose your fellow students to. We look forward to your input.


Sincerely,

Jason Kogler and Kerry-Anne Saouter
Ciné Club Executive Members


*Update* We have been informed that we require a certain number of registered members to make our group official. If you are interested in participating in Ciné Club, why not become a member? No responsibilities are forced on members and you would not be required to attend all events. However, you would have voting rights and in turn could help influence the directions we take. If you have any questions regarding membership submit them using the site contact form.

Thank you,

Jason

A new year for Cine Club

Well, it is about time we get the group up and running again. Although we have had sporadic screenings over the summer, it will be good to get back into a regular screening routine.

Kerry-Anne and I are working hard to make the Ciné Club a much more worth while (and official) thing this year. We have some interesting ideas that may be intriguing to some of you including the possibility of prize give-aways, special screenings, guest speakers and even small production opportunities.


This Monday will be the club's first night and we have a new room: The SMIL screening room. We will begin at about 6pm and it will be a very casual event - with the short notice of this message we don't expect a great deal of people to show up. However we will be getting the word out that screenings have resumed and hope that some of you will be able to join us on a regular basis.

So please come by on Monday at 6pm if you are interested in seeing a film and discussing the various possibilities for our little group.

Take care all and I look forward with the opportunity to work with more of you this year and enjoy some heated film discussion.

Sincerely,

Jason Kogler