Since 1977, Isao Yamada, director of instant Spectacle classic I’VE HEARD THE AMMONITE MURMUR, has produced over one hundred experimental short film-poetries in a collection he calls Yamavicascope. These films emphasize the “non-digital optical sensation” produced by the 8mm (and occasionally 16mm) film upon which they are shot, and hand-edited, by Yamada. This emphasis on materiality is seen throughout Yamada’s other artistic output, which includes paintings, manga, graphic design, and a calligraphic font known as “Yamada-moji,” which he uses for the titles and type in his films.
This March, Spectacle is honored to present a two-night Yamavicascope retrospective; these four programs, titled by Yamada himself, invite a career-spanning glimpse into the director’s “private films.”
Special thanks to Eiichi Aso, Yamavica Film, and YHI.
ROGRAM 1
Nostalgia, Sadness, and the Sea
なつかしさと 悲しみと 海と
FRIDAY, MARCH 14 – 7:30PM
Yamada was 21 years old when he joined the Tenjo Sajiki theater troupe, known as one of the most provocative forces in the newly-emerging angura scene. The troupe was co-founded and led by Shuji Terayama; Yamada credits his relationship with Terayama and working on the art direction of his features as his awakening to film. Following this awakening, Yamada co-founded the Gingagahou-sha Film Club in Sapporo, Japan with manga artist Yumekichi Minatoya.The works in this program make up some of Yamada’s earliest forays into film and introduce his first major collaborator Minatoya.
AN INCIDENT OF NIGHT (スバルの夜, 1977. 25 min), NIGHT OF THE MILKY WAY RAILROAD (銀河鉄道の夜, 1982. 45 min.), THE FAN OF SPIRAL SHELL (巻貝の扇,1983.12 min.), SAD GADOLF (悲しいガドルフ) 1984. 20 min.
PROGRAM 2: WAYS OF REMEMBERING YOUR DREAMS
夢を記録する方法
FRIDAY, MARCH 14 – 10:00 PM
CRYSTAL (水晶, 1988, 12 min), THE CROWN OF DREAMS (夢を冠に, 1999, 16 min), THE DESCENDENT OF ANDROGYNOUS (アンドロギュヌスの裔, 1995, 25 min), FRAGMENTATION OF NIGHT (夜のフラグメント, 1996, 12 min), SWAMP (沼, 1999, 12 min), A STAR AND A PROPELLER (星とプロペラ, 2000, 13 min
PROGRAM 3: MARIONETTE FANTASIES
人形幻想
SATURDAY, MARCH 15 – 5:00 PM
GIRL ORPHEE (少女オルフェ, 2001, 20 min), WINTER FLOWER (逢魔ヶ時, 2003, 15 min), FEEL (そして彼女の手は優しく触れる, 2004, 15 min), CHRYSANTHEMUM INSPIRATION (綺想, 2005, 20 min),
WINTER HAS A DREAM (白昼夢, 2008, 20 min)
PROGRAM 4: LIFE FLASHING BEFORE ONE’S EYES, AND FABLES
走馬灯と寓話
SATURDAY, MARCH 15 – 7:30 PM
DESPAIR ARABESQUE (絶望アラベスク, 2011, 34 min), REFLECTION(記憶, 2014, 23 min), APPARITION’S MOMENT (幻視の一瞬, 2017, 3 min), THE NIGHT OF COPERNICUS
(コペルニクスの夜, 2020-21, 28 min)