Between Cinema and Theatre
Engeki 1
Dir. Sōda Kazuhiro
Japan 2012, 172’
Subtitles: Polish & English
Describing his theories, Hirata says, "Human beings are all creatures who act. The so called 'true self' is just an illusion. We only have personas." With his plays, he stays away from any ideological expressions, and mostly devotes himself to focus on "accidents" hidden in our everyday life to depict them intricately. "Our existence itself is already dramatic and amazing," he says.
Theatre 1 (Observational Film Series #3) is a feature length documentary, which closely depicts the world of Oriza Hirata, Japan’s leading playwright and director, and his theatrical company, Seinendan. By depicting them, the film leads the audience to revisit fundamental but timely questions: What is theatre? Why do human beings act?
Hirata's dialogues are written in everyday language, as opposed to formal "theatrical" speech, and his actors reproduce ordinary behavior, rather than stylized movements and actions. In one scene, multiple dialogues progress simultaneously, and the actors are often shown speaking with their backs to the audience. In this sense, his plays can be viewed as precisely reproduced full-scale models of the actual world we live in.
Awards and Festivals
Nantes Three Continents Festival 2012 Young Audience Award
Sōda Kazuhiro
Sōda Kazuhiro (b. 1970), a Japanese citizen, lived in Japan until 1993 when he relocated to New York City and began his film career. After directing numerous documentaries for Japanese television (NHK) from his base in New York, Sōda transitioned toward creating independent feature length documentary films. Sōda is a Peabody Award winning filmmaker. He's also a recipient of the Marek Nowicki lifetime achievement prize awarded by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. He practices an observational method of documentary filmmaking based on his own “Ten Commandments" which prohibits him from doing pre-shoot research or writing a synopsis before filming. His latest film ZERO received the Ecumenical Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Best Film Award at the Festival des 3 Continents in 2020. He is also the author of eight books published in Japan.
Filmography
2007 Campaign
2008 Seishin
2018 The Big House
2020 Seishin 0/ Zero
Cast & Crew
Director: Sōda Kazuhiro
Screenplay: Sōda Kazuhiro
Cinematography: Sōda Kazuhiro
Editing: Sōda Kazuhiro
Cast: Fukada Kōji, Furutachi Kanji, Hirata Oriza, Matsuda Hiroko, Shiga Kōtarō, Yamauchi Kenji
Producer: Sōda Kazuhiro, Kashiwagi Kiyoko
Production: Laboratory X
Language: Japanese
Colouration: Colour
