Looters Radio (short; Mark Essen, 2011)
Activated Memory II (short; Sabrina Ratte, 2011)
Cybele: A Pastoral Ritual in Five Scenes (short; Donald Richie, 1968)
Dead Youth (short; Donald Richie, 1967)
Pacific Sun (short; Thomas Demand)
Sshtoorrty (short; Michael Snow, 2005)
Tomorrow’s Sun (short; Nagisa Oshima, 1959)
Before fake trailers were even a thing, Oshima’s debut short film serves, in retrospect, as a biting parody of then-popular film genres; combining excerpts from a would-be taiyozoku beach romp, an American-styled musical (above), a run-of-the-mill gangster film, a cheesy romance, an operatic jidaigeki and a contemporary drama into a rollicking faux 7 minute trailer — which also served as Oshima’s demo reel to Shochiku, following many years serving as an assistant director. Segments are ingeniously linked by a young woman - the narrator - carrying a red umbrella, and if uncharacteristically upbeat, it is a clear, early example of Oshima’s striking inventivity, as well as his keen sense for framing and relentlessly dynamic editing. More on Oshima in the coming weeks…
Atraksion (short; Raoul Servais, 2001)
Harpya (short; Raoul Servais, 1979)
Roman Dzentelmena (short; Tomasz Kozak, 2000)
