The concert film, directed by Neo Sora, premiered at Venice Film Festival on September 4.
Film Constellation has closed key distribution deals for Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, which captures the final performance of the late Japanese composer and received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday (September 4).
The London and Paris-based firm has sold the feature to Spain (Filmin), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Scandinavia (NjutaFilms), South Korea (Media Castle), China (Jl Vision Films), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Singapore (Anticipate Pictures). Bitters End will handle the release of the film in Japan in...
Film Constellation has closed key distribution deals for Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, which captures the final performance of the late Japanese composer and received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday (September 4).
The London and Paris-based firm has sold the feature to Spain (Filmin), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Scandinavia (NjutaFilms), South Korea (Media Castle), China (Jl Vision Films), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Singapore (Anticipate Pictures). Bitters End will handle the release of the film in Japan in...
- 9/6/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
This concert film chronicles the final performance of the Oscar-winning Japanese composer of ‘The Last Emperor’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’.
London and Paris-based outfit Film Constellation has boarded world sales on Neo Sora’s Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The concert film chronicles the final performance of Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer of The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, who died on March 28 aged 71. It will premiere out of competition at Venice on September 5. A first-look image from the film can be seen above.
Featuring just Sakamoto and his piano,...
London and Paris-based outfit Film Constellation has boarded world sales on Neo Sora’s Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The concert film chronicles the final performance of Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer of The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, who died on March 28 aged 71. It will premiere out of competition at Venice on September 5. A first-look image from the film can be seen above.
Featuring just Sakamoto and his piano,...
- 8/17/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017) is now showing on Mubi in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018) is showing in the United States and Canada.Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda.I think the inspiration to make Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017) first came to me in April of 2012. Ryuichi Sakamoto had curated a series of performances at a space called the Stone in the East Village, and I went to see him perform there with the guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Otomo Yoshihide. The Stone is small, and the show was sold out. I was asked to sit on the floor somewhere between the two artists, literally close enough to touch Otomo-san's effects pedals and a leg of Ryuichi's piano—that's how intimate the Stone can be. As they explored the fringe between music and noise, their performance somehow evoked images of Fukushima in the aftermath...
- 7/31/2023
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.REMEMBRANCERyuichi Sakamoto: Coda.Ryuichi Sakamoto died last week at the age of 71. He was the keyboardist for Yellow Magic Orchestra, who revolutionized techno in the early ’80s, and later became a pioneering composer for film—notably Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987) and Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), in which he stars. It is impossible to sum up his impact in a bullet point, but we offer up a few finds: below, a clip from the 1985 film Tokyo Melody, in which Sakamoto shows us how to compose on the then-state-of-the-art Fairlight Cmi. Here, a 2018 New York Times piece about his quest to create the ideal background playlist for a beloved restaurant. “If I was an architect, I would be a bad one,...
- 5/3/2023
- MUBI
The world mourns the loss of a man behind some of the most beautiful, mesmerizing, and transcendent music ever composed. On March 23rd, 2023, renowned composer Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away at 71. The cause of death was cancer, something he had battled for quite some time. Since his early days as a member and founder of the “Yellow Magic Orchestra,” Sakamoto demonstrated range as a composer and would be an influential figure covering a wide range of genres from electronic to classical. His work has often been fittingly described as atmospheric, emotional, hypnotic, beautiful, and majestic. He was also open about being an environmentalist, studying world culture, and advocating for peace. Journalists Gigova and Orie, in an article on CNN's website, detail his activism stating, “Outside music, Sakamoto was known for activism — and in particular for his anti-nuclear views, which saw him demonstrating against nuclear power plants and co-organizing a “No Nukes...
- 4/22/2023
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning composer, musician, actor, singer, producer, writer and activist from Japan, has died. He was 71.
Sakamoto died on March 28 of cancer, recording company Avex said in a statement posted to Twitter Sunday that thanks his medical teams in Japan and the U.S. and asks for fans to respect the privacy of his family at this time.
“While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow him to. He lived with music until the very end,” the statement says, noting a private funeral among close family has already taken place.
During a career that saw him scoring more than 40 films, including The Last Emperor (1987), Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and The Revenant (2015), Sakamoto also received two Golden Globes, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA.
Born in Tokyo in 1952 to a clothes designer mother and literary editor father,...
Sakamoto died on March 28 of cancer, recording company Avex said in a statement posted to Twitter Sunday that thanks his medical teams in Japan and the U.S. and asks for fans to respect the privacy of his family at this time.
“While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow him to. He lived with music until the very end,” the statement says, noting a private funeral among close family has already taken place.
During a career that saw him scoring more than 40 films, including The Last Emperor (1987), Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and The Revenant (2015), Sakamoto also received two Golden Globes, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA.
Born in Tokyo in 1952 to a clothes designer mother and literary editor father,...
- 4/2/2023
- by Gavin J Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a composer and conductor who has scored several well-known films, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983), “The Last Emperor” (1987) and most recently “The Revenant” (2015). His career began with a pioneering electronic music group in the late 1970’s and he has always maintained a unique aesthetic. Director Stephen Nomura Schible, who has also directed one of Sakamoto’s concerts, gives us an inside look into the life of this maestro.
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” is screening on Mubi
The film begins with Sakamoto examining a piano that was recently recovered from the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The piano was hit by the tsunami and floated away, with evidence of tide marks showing its journey. Sakamoto looks over the salvaged instrument that he is still able to play. This leads us into the two major concerns of his life: music and anti-nuclear activism. Following the meltdown at...
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” is screening on Mubi
The film begins with Sakamoto examining a piano that was recently recovered from the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The piano was hit by the tsunami and floated away, with evidence of tide marks showing its journey. Sakamoto looks over the salvaged instrument that he is still able to play. This leads us into the two major concerns of his life: music and anti-nuclear activism. Following the meltdown at...
- 11/4/2020
- by Matthew Cooper
- AsianMoviePulse
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda will be newly available on Blu-ray and DVD on November 3, 2020. This special edition release from Mubi will also include the full concert documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: async At The Park Avenue Armory.
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” is screening on Mubi
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (Venice ‘17)
One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto, has established an impressive career for himself that spans from techno-pop stardom to becoming an Oscar-winning composer and anti-nuclear activist. This intimate portrait explores Sakamoto’s return to music following a cancer diagnosis, leading to the creation of a haunting new masterpiece.
Stephen Nomura Schible’s wonderful feature debut is a revelatory exploration of Ryuichi Sakamoto, his work, environmentalism, and the incredible album async. This lovely and graceful exploration offers a rare glimpse into the artistic process of the renowned musician.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: async At The Park Avenue Armory (Berlin ‘18)
A live performance...
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” is screening on Mubi
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (Venice ‘17)
One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto, has established an impressive career for himself that spans from techno-pop stardom to becoming an Oscar-winning composer and anti-nuclear activist. This intimate portrait explores Sakamoto’s return to music following a cancer diagnosis, leading to the creation of a haunting new masterpiece.
Stephen Nomura Schible’s wonderful feature debut is a revelatory exploration of Ryuichi Sakamoto, his work, environmentalism, and the incredible album async. This lovely and graceful exploration offers a rare glimpse into the artistic process of the renowned musician.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: async At The Park Avenue Armory (Berlin ‘18)
A live performance...
- 11/3/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Mubi has revealed its picks for November with a slate packed with recent festival hits and rediscovered classics. Nimic, the latest work by award-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos, premieres exclusively on Mubi November 27. Starring Oscar nominee Matt Dillon and written by Lanthimos with frequent collaborator Efthimis Filippou, Nimic is a compact thriller about identity, perception, relationships, and circularity.
November will kick off with the exclusive online premiere of Angela Schanelec’s I Was at Home, But…,an enigmatic story of family and loss that confirms the German auteur’s status as a modern master. To coincide with the US election on November 3rd, Mubi is proud to exclusively present a new restoration of Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind. Making its way through 400 years of American history, this thought-provoking documentary by John Gianvito visits the resting places of such famed figures as Malcolm X, Mother Jones, Frederick Douglass, Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony and Crazy Horse,...
November will kick off with the exclusive online premiere of Angela Schanelec’s I Was at Home, But…,an enigmatic story of family and loss that confirms the German auteur’s status as a modern master. To coincide with the US election on November 3rd, Mubi is proud to exclusively present a new restoration of Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind. Making its way through 400 years of American history, this thought-provoking documentary by John Gianvito visits the resting places of such famed figures as Malcolm X, Mother Jones, Frederick Douglass, Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony and Crazy Horse,...
- 11/1/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
As much as we adore and revere the theatrical experience, as theater chains prep to reopen amidst a virus that is spreading rapidly in certain areas of the country, one is far better off staying at home and enjoying films from around the world. There’s no better place to do that than The Criterion Channel, and now they’ve unveiled their July lineup.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
- 6/26/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Leading curated streaming platform Mubi announced today its April release slate of films and curated series from both emerging talent and acclaimed directors from across the globe. Next month, Mubi will unveil the next phase of their innovative Special Discovery series, with the introduction of no less than seven new exclusive strands featuring exciting new titles that can’t be seen elsewhere.
Mubi’s new exclusive strands, which will enjoy a permanent home on the platform with two to four titles added each month, include: Debuts – a celebration of first features from new filmmakers;
The New Auteurs – a tribute to emerging artists and filmmakers with distinct visions;
Luminaries – works from the established masters of cinema;
Brief Encounters – the very best in new short cinema;
Undiscovered – adventurous works that push boundaries and challenge the status quo;
Rediscovered – restored classics waiting to be revisited;
Mubi Releases – Mubi’s all-rights acquisitions, hand-picked from...
Mubi’s new exclusive strands, which will enjoy a permanent home on the platform with two to four titles added each month, include: Debuts – a celebration of first features from new filmmakers;
The New Auteurs – a tribute to emerging artists and filmmakers with distinct visions;
Luminaries – works from the established masters of cinema;
Brief Encounters – the very best in new short cinema;
Undiscovered – adventurous works that push boundaries and challenge the status quo;
Rediscovered – restored classics waiting to be revisited;
Mubi Releases – Mubi’s all-rights acquisitions, hand-picked from...
- 3/26/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi‘s “Free Solo” leads the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards with six bids, including Best Documentary and Best Director. Also nabbing nominations in those two top categories is Bing Liu‘s “Minding the Gap,” which is also in the running for Best First Time Director, as well as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Three Identical Strangers.” In all 10 films were nominated for the top prize at these awards bestowed by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. (Bfca). The other four are “Crime + Punishment,” “Hal,” “Rbg,” and “Wild Wild Country.”
Last year the Bfca nominated 16 films for this award, three of which –“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” “Faces Places,” and “Strong Island” — went on to contend at the Oscars. And in 2016 the Bfca shared its Best Documentary winner (“O.J.: Made in America”) with the Academy...
Last year the Bfca nominated 16 films for this award, three of which –“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” “Faces Places,” and “Strong Island” — went on to contend at the Oscars. And in 2016 the Bfca shared its Best Documentary winner (“O.J.: Made in America”) with the Academy...
- 10/16/2018
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo,” which captured rock climber Alex Honnold’s hair-raising ascent of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot El Capitan rock formation, led the nominations for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, it was revealed Monday. The film netted six nominations including best documentary and best director.
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
- 10/15/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced the nominees for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event, hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye, on Saturday, November 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo” leads this year with six nominations and one honor, including Best Documentary, Best Directors, Best Sports Documentary, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and a Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary honor for Alex Honnold. “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country” follow with five nominations each, with “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” each earning four nods.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s outstanding documentary work at the upcoming event,” said Broadcast Film Critics Association President...
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo” leads this year with six nominations and one honor, including Best Documentary, Best Directors, Best Sports Documentary, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and a Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary honor for Alex Honnold. “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country” follow with five nominations each, with “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” each earning four nods.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s outstanding documentary work at the upcoming event,” said Broadcast Film Critics Association President...
- 10/15/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Scores on Screen is a column by Clare Nina Norelli on film soundtracks.In Stephen Nomura Schible’s moving documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017), we are brought into the world of Ryuichi Sakamoto, an innovative Japanese composer responsible for not only a myriad of diverse compositional works, but also for the iconic scores of such films as Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983), The Last Emperor (1987), and Gohatto (1999). Shot over the course of five years, Coda allows us a glimpse at the composer at work, be it through traditional means as he notates by hand on manuscript at his Steinway grand piano, or in experimental mode, recording ambient sound in pursuit of complimentary timbres to include in his compositions. We watch as Sakamoto enthusiastically records the tranquil din of rain collecting in a bucket, the crunch of his boots meeting dry leaves on a forest floor, and the strained notes of a...
- 9/28/2018
- MUBI
Stephen Nomura Schible's Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017) is showing exclusively September 7 – October 7, 2018 on Mubi in the United States and Canada. For the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda on Mubi, we have partnered with the video essay channel ScreenPrism to produce a new video exploring their take on the role music has in film through the soundtracks of the great Japanese composer, including his music for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor, and The Revenant.
- 9/19/2018
- MUBI
Admirers of the highly respected Japanese musician (and occasional actor) will enjoy “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” a leisurely look at a multi-talent best known in the west for composing memorable original scores for directors from Bertolucci and Oshima to Inarritu and Miike. Stephen Nomura Schible shot this documentary over a five-year span, during which Sakamoto survived a serious cancer scare. That lends some drama to a tastefully elegiac portrait that otherwise demurs from any discussion of its protagonist’s personal life or background. Those not already acquainted will also have to look elsewhere for any general overview of his career or influences, a foreknowledge assumed here.
The result won’t hold much appeal for those requiring an introduction, but should please fans with its drifting, lyrical, and thoughtful tenor, echoing so much of this artist’s music. U.S. distributor Mubi will mostly be preaching to the converted with a...
The result won’t hold much appeal for those requiring an introduction, but should please fans with its drifting, lyrical, and thoughtful tenor, echoing so much of this artist’s music. U.S. distributor Mubi will mostly be preaching to the converted with a...
- 7/6/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Ask Ryuichi Sakamoto if a movie saved his life, and he’ll say yes.
In June of 2014, the famed Japanese composer was diagnosed with Stage III throat cancer. On July 10 of that year, Sakamoto made his illness known to the public, releasing a statement in which he expressed his need to take a break, and apologized “for all of the burden I will undoubtedly be casting upon everyone who has been working with me on various projects.”
The following spring, after Sakamoto completed an intense round of chemotherapy (and completely scrapped the album he was writing prior to his diagnosis), he received an urgent phone call from director Alejandro González Iñárritu asking him to fly to L.A. — tomorrow, if possible — to discuss scoring a movie called “The Revenant.” Gaunt, sore, and weary just from waking up, Sakamoto accepted the invitation. “I’m supposed to be on a hiatus period,...
In June of 2014, the famed Japanese composer was diagnosed with Stage III throat cancer. On July 10 of that year, Sakamoto made his illness known to the public, releasing a statement in which he expressed his need to take a break, and apologized “for all of the burden I will undoubtedly be casting upon everyone who has been working with me on various projects.”
The following spring, after Sakamoto completed an intense round of chemotherapy (and completely scrapped the album he was writing prior to his diagnosis), he received an urgent phone call from director Alejandro González Iñárritu asking him to fly to L.A. — tomorrow, if possible — to discuss scoring a movie called “The Revenant.” Gaunt, sore, and weary just from waking up, Sakamoto accepted the invitation. “I’m supposed to be on a hiatus period,...
- 7/3/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Stephen Nomura Schible’s documentary charts the career of the musician and anti-nuclear campaigner who created one of the catchiest film themes of the 80s
That “coda” in the title is maybe more wintry than it need have been. The Japanese film composer, musician and anti-nuclear campaigner Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and his prodigious work rate had to slow to a virtual standstill. Stephen Schible’s documentary portrait follows the musician in the calm and introspective period forced on him – but it also shows him participating in post-Fukushima demonstrations. But whatever he had feared, and prepared himself for, this cancer is now in remission and so far it has not come back.
Sakamoto made his breakthrough writing the music for Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence – one of the most famous movie themes of the 80s with its inspirationally catchy westernised pop take on Japanese music.
That “coda” in the title is maybe more wintry than it need have been. The Japanese film composer, musician and anti-nuclear campaigner Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and his prodigious work rate had to slow to a virtual standstill. Stephen Schible’s documentary portrait follows the musician in the calm and introspective period forced on him – but it also shows him participating in post-Fukushima demonstrations. But whatever he had feared, and prepared himself for, this cancer is now in remission and so far it has not come back.
Sakamoto made his breakthrough writing the music for Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence – one of the most famous movie themes of the 80s with its inspirationally catchy westernised pop take on Japanese music.
- 6/27/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a composer and conductor who has scored several well-known films, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983), “The Last Emperor” (1987) and most recently “The Revenant” (2015). His career began with a pioneering electronic music group in the late 1970’s and he has always maintained a unique aesthetic. Director Stephen Nomura Schible, who has also directed one of Sakamoto’s concerts, gives us an inside look into the life of this maestro.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The film begins with Sakamoto examining a piano that was recently recovered from the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The piano was hit by the tsunami and floated away, with evidence of tide marks showing its journey. Sakamoto looks over the salvaged instrument that he is still able to play. This leads us into the two major concerns of his life: music and his anti-nuclear activism.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The film begins with Sakamoto examining a piano that was recently recovered from the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The piano was hit by the tsunami and floated away, with evidence of tide marks showing its journey. Sakamoto looks over the salvaged instrument that he is still able to play. This leads us into the two major concerns of his life: music and his anti-nuclear activism.
- 6/23/2018
- by Matthew Cooper
- AsianMoviePulse
As part of its celebration of the best of independent moviemaking from around the world, including from the U.S., this year’s Munich Film Festival will include works highlighting some of today’s defining issues: the MeToo debate, racism, the increasingly troubling nature of social media and the impact of ever-growing surveillance.
The festival, which runs June 28 to July 7, opens with Joachim A. Lang’s “Mackie Messer — Brechts Dreigroschenfilm,” a fictional tale inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 play “The Threepenny Opera,” and Kurt Weill’s song “The Ballad of Mack the Knife,” in which the famed playwright seeks to adapt his work to film without blunting its political edge.
For festival director Diana Iljine, the film is particularly timely: “Just like the famous first words of ‘Mack the Knife’ — ‘And the shark, he has teeth’ — one might say: This film, it has teeth. At a pivotal moment in recent history,...
The festival, which runs June 28 to July 7, opens with Joachim A. Lang’s “Mackie Messer — Brechts Dreigroschenfilm,” a fictional tale inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 play “The Threepenny Opera,” and Kurt Weill’s song “The Ballad of Mack the Knife,” in which the famed playwright seeks to adapt his work to film without blunting its political edge.
For festival director Diana Iljine, the film is particularly timely: “Just like the famous first words of ‘Mack the Knife’ — ‘And the shark, he has teeth’ — one might say: This film, it has teeth. At a pivotal moment in recent history,...
- 6/21/2018
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Now in its seventeenth year, New York City’s own Tribeca Film Festival kicks off every spring with a wide variety of programming, from an ever-expanding Vr installation to an enviable television lineup, but the bulk of the annual festival’s programming is movies. This year’s festival offers up plenty of familiar faces with new projects alongside newcomers. While Tribeca’s documentaries tend to be its high point, there are plenty of narratives features worth checking out this year as well. We’ve culled this list from a program that consists of 96 titles.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18 – 29. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda”
One of the most influential, prolific, and flat-out enjoyable composers of the last 30 years, Ryuichi Sakamoto exploded onto the scene by writing unforgettable scores for films like “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” and “The Last Emperor,...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18 – 29. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda”
One of the most influential, prolific, and flat-out enjoyable composers of the last 30 years, Ryuichi Sakamoto exploded onto the scene by writing unforgettable scores for films like “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” and “The Last Emperor,...
- 4/16/2018
- by Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich, Jude Dry and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
In April 2017, Ryuichi Sakamoto gave a live U.S. premiere performance of his first new non-soundtrack album in eight years at the Veterans Room of the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The album, async, was conceived around the time the Oscar-winning avant-classical composer was undergoing radiology treatment for throat cancer, which may explain why much of it is preoccupied with themes of mortality and finite time. Director Stephen Nomura Schible was on hand to capture the performance for this crisp concert film, which serves as a companion piece to Coda, his recent documentary profile of Sakamoto.
Live at...
Live at...
- 2/22/2018
- by Stephen Dalton
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Films features ensemble cast that mixes actors and non-professionals - including Laura Benson, Tomas Lemarquis and Irmena Chichikova.
Source: Manekino Film
‘Touch Me Not’
Paris-based Doc & Film International has boarded world sales on Romanian director Adina Pintilie’s hybrid study of intimacy Touch Me Not ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
“This debut feature has completely overwhelmed us,” commented Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner.
“On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not is a film about how human beings can find intimacy in the most unexpected ways, about how to love another without losing ourselves.”
The film is a co-production between Bucharest-based Manekino Film, German film company Rohfilm Productions, Prague-based Pink Productions, Budapest Agitprop and French production company Les Films de L’Etranger.
It features an equally cosmopolitan, ensemble cast - mixing actors and non-professionals - including Paris-based British actress Laura Benson, Icelandic actor Tomas Lemarquis...
Source: Manekino Film
‘Touch Me Not’
Paris-based Doc & Film International has boarded world sales on Romanian director Adina Pintilie’s hybrid study of intimacy Touch Me Not ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
“This debut feature has completely overwhelmed us,” commented Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner.
“On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not is a film about how human beings can find intimacy in the most unexpected ways, about how to love another without losing ourselves.”
The film is a co-production between Bucharest-based Manekino Film, German film company Rohfilm Productions, Prague-based Pink Productions, Budapest Agitprop and French production company Les Films de L’Etranger.
It features an equally cosmopolitan, ensemble cast - mixing actors and non-professionals - including Paris-based British actress Laura Benson, Icelandic actor Tomas Lemarquis...
- 1/30/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Company also takes on Venice Out of Competition title Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda.
Paris-based sales company Doc & Film has unveiled a slew of deals on Frederick Wiseman’s Venice Golden Lion contender Ex Libris – The New York Public Library.
The documentary, going behind the scenes of the world-famous public library, was revealed on Thursday as being one of the titles in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.
Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner said the feature had pre-sold to Spain (La Aventura Audiovisual), Korea (Jinjin), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), China (Lemon Tree) and Switzerland (Xenix).
“Other territories are under negotiation and it will be released in France on 1st November by Meteore Films,” she added.
Wiseman’s film delves into how the New York Public Library continues traditional activities while adapting to the digital age.
Venice sales pick-up
In other Venice-related news, Doc & Film has also taken on sales of Stephen Schible’s Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda...
Paris-based sales company Doc & Film has unveiled a slew of deals on Frederick Wiseman’s Venice Golden Lion contender Ex Libris – The New York Public Library.
The documentary, going behind the scenes of the world-famous public library, was revealed on Thursday as being one of the titles in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.
Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner said the feature had pre-sold to Spain (La Aventura Audiovisual), Korea (Jinjin), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), China (Lemon Tree) and Switzerland (Xenix).
“Other territories are under negotiation and it will be released in France on 1st November by Meteore Films,” she added.
Wiseman’s film delves into how the New York Public Library continues traditional activities while adapting to the digital age.
Venice sales pick-up
In other Venice-related news, Doc & Film has also taken on sales of Stephen Schible’s Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda...
- 7/27/2017
- ScreenDaily
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