Tokyo & Sports Series

@JFT, admission free, RSVP required

All films in Japanese with English subtitles

This year is a very special year for Japan, not only is it the first REIWA year, but also TOKYO, the country’s capital, will be host to the largest sporting event on the planet! It will be taking place in the summer, and this series will celebrate Tokyo the mega city, and Sports serve as a count down, as the opening date approaches.

February 25, 2020 will be exactly six months from the start of the Tokyo 2020 PARALYMPICS, and the evening will be preceded by a screening of the short film about the inaugural Paralympics game, TOKYO PARALYMPICS “A Song for Social Rehabilitation”  1964, 11 min. Planned and produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Film Association. 

February 25, 2020 6:30 PM

SAPPORO WINTER OLYMPICS 札幌オリンピック

Directed by Masahiro SHINODA 1972, 167 min. [Documentary] New HD digital transfer

Masahiro Shinoda’s interest in sports and experience as an athlete, he was a long-distance runner, made him an ideal choice to direct the official film of the XI Olympic Winter Games Sapporo 1972. His work is marked by its gravitas, and this can be felt in the opening Torch Relay sequence. Few Olympic films can boast such aesthetically pleasing images as this one. Shinoda takes full advantage of the ‘Scope format, and of the superb equipment at his disposal. Allied to this is a subtle use of sound and silence, filtering out all extraneous noise when required.

A selection of titles from over 30 films by Masahiro Shinoda include:

PALE FLOWER 乾いた花 (1964)

THE STRANGE STORY OF SARUTOBI SASUKE, a.k.a. Samurai Spy 異聞猿飛佐助 (1965)

DOUBLE SUICIDE 心中天網島 (1969)

SILENCE 沈黙 (1971)

GONZA THE SPEARMAN 近松門左衛門 鑓の権三 (1986)

OWL’S CASTLE (1999)