Sion Sono
dir. Sion Sono
Japan 2015, 32’
Subtitles: Polish
Screenings
07.10.2023, 19:00
Cinema Muranów
Tokyo Gagaga was the name of a group of young performers that under Sono’s direction took possession of the public space in the 1990s. Carrying hand-painted placards, they attacked random passers-by, shouting “TOKYO GA GA GA!” and reciting poetry. Sono was recognizable as the energetic “lord of misrule” by his shades and old-fashioned hat. There was no particular ideological, political, or religious message behind their provocative activities.
The film Tokyo Gagaga includes out-takes from the archives documenting the group’s activities between 1993 and 1995. They are characterized by the poor video-film quality typical for the period, which makes them rather raw. Nonetheless, these are supplemented by more visually aesthetic photographs, descriptions, explanations, and the direct commentary of Sono himself, in an inerview.
The half-hour documentary was first screened in the summer of 2015 at an exhibition in Gallery Garter in the Tokyo district of Kōenji. As well as the film, visitors could also view series of slides, which formed the body of the exhibition, and listen to two girls in costumes stylized on the materials displayed on the walls.
Sion Sono
“I became a poet in my teens. I would write verse in biro on paper, but that was too boring, so I started writing on walls, in toilets, and that kind of place. From there, I moved on to photographing my scribblings,” Sono recalls. From poetry, he shifted to the medium of film, selecting an 8mm camera. And then he pointed it at himself, and recorded himself reading his own poetry. With hindsight, Sono says that before he realized it, he had made his first film. And so it was that the poet became a filmmaker.
The picture is a rare and precious testimony to his early career, from his period as a poet and performative artist in the public space. It also captures well the Tokyo Gagaga group, with which two years later he made Bad Film.“
Because Tokyo Gagaga came after The Room, which was a very ‘closed’ film, I wanted to make something that would explode. Back then I didn’t think of films as my main moded of expression.”
Production team
director: Sion Sono
screenplay: Sion Sono
camera: Tokio Gagaga
