The BFI Southbank to host programme of 60's classics throughout August

by Chris MaGee

Here is a heads up about a screening series taking place in the UK. Throughout the month of August the BFI Southbank, in association with The Japan Foundation and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, will be presenting Shinjuku Diaries: Films from The Art Theatre Guild of Japan. This programme will bring together art house classics, and other lesser known gems, by some of Japan's leading directors of the late 60's and early 70's. Included will be such films as Shuji Terayama's "Pastoral: Hide and Seek" (above), Nagisa Oshima's "Death by Hanging", Susumu Hani's "Inferno of First Love", Shohei Imamura's "A Man Vanishes", Masahiro Shinoda's "Double Suicide" and Hiroshi Teshigahara's "Pitfall" (trailer below), amongst many others. What will make this series all the more unmissable is that fact that the screenings will be introduced by such well known film scholars as Jasper Sharp, Tony Rayns, Go Hirasawa and Julian Ross.

For more details on Shinjuku Diaries: Films from The Art Theatre Guild of Japan head to the BFI Southbank website here.