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News
From Abroad
By
Sara Stokoe
Banned
U.S. Film Causes Controversy and Even a Police Raid
(Australia)
"Ken
Park" is a provocative film by director Larry Clark,
who also directed the somewhat controversial and disturbing
film "Kids," and Edward Lachman. Like "Kids"
this film catalogues the violent dysfunctional lives
of teenage skateboarders, this time in the quiet suburbs
of Visalia, California.
Australian
authorities effectively banned the film from cinemas
by refusing to grant it a classification due to its
underage sex scenes and graphic depictions of street
violence. However, many citizens upset about this restriction
on freedom of expression, chose to protest the ban in
early July to highlight the censorship taking place
by setting up and attending a public viewing of the
film in the upscale suburb of Balmain.
But
the local police stepped in quickly after reportedly
receiving a written complaint from a member of the public.
"Our
sole role was to ensure that there was no screening
of a refused classification film, that being "Ken
Park"…we weren't here to disrupt any lawful
activities nor any debate or censorship issues,"
said local police superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis.
None
of the four who admitted to pressing play were arrested
or charged with any crime. However a charge of illegally
screening a banned film in Australia carries a maximum
punishment of one year in prison.
Story
courtesy of The Straits Times, July 4, 2003.
Melbourne International Film Festival Opened With a
Splash
(Australia)
Wednesday
July 23rd marked the gala opening of the Melbourne International
Film Festival in Australia and celebrities and guests
were greeted with showers not of praise, but of rain.
The
gala opening officially launches a full two and a half
weeks (19 days) of screenings. More than four hundred
movies from all over the world will be shown, many for
the first time ever.
The
festival is extra-special this year as it features multiple
new genres including "Brain Monkey Sushi"
which includes radical new Japanese movies, a genre
of martial arts classics, Asian women film-makers, new
Russian cinema and cutting edge animation.
The festival will close on the 10th of August with the
premier of Gregor Jordan's "Buffalo Soldiers"
and "Cracker Bag," which was the winner of
the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival for
short films.
Story
courtesy of The Age in Australia
Brisbane
Brother's Horror
(Australia)
Still image from the Brisbane brother's new zombie
flick "Undead."
Courtesy of www.theage.com.au |
"Undead,"
which was screened at the Melbourne International Film
Festival on July 26th is a film by two brothers, Michael
and Peter Spierig, from Brisbane, Australia and is set
in a small fishing village that is within the path of
a destructive meteor shower that causes brain-munching
zombies to ravage the townspeople.
This
film, which was made for less than $1 million, has already
generated a strong buzz on multiple continents and even
has begun making profits before hitting the theaters.
Hollywood has been wooing the brothers as well. The
Spierig's, who are first time feature directors, are
currently being represented by the William Morris Agency
in Los Angeles. The film has already been sold to 21
different territories including the U.S. where it will
be distributed by Lion's Gate. The U.S. release date
has not yet been announced.
Story
courtesy of The Age in Australia.
Solstice Music Festival Cancelled
(Japan)
In
what seems to be becoming a trend, the sequels to last
years huge open-air parties in Japan are being canceled
one after the other. First it was Harukaze in April,
then Music of the Sphere in May, then Vision Quest's
Spring Trance Festival in June and now the Solstice
Music Festival.
The
Solstice Music Festival has only been running for four
years now and is already closing down! However, the
official word is that it will only be cancelled for
this year. In an interview with The Japan Times, Solstice
A&R producer Masachika Kukui expressed disappointment
and cited "a lack of appropriate locations to hold
the event" as one of the main reasons for this
year's cancellation.
"Our
decision is more positive than negative. It has left
us with more time for creativity, and this will allow
us to make next year's festival even more special."
At the end of July, Solstice released will release a
DVD that chronicles the Solstice Music Festival, containing
footage from the last three years of festivals and a
5.1 surround sound live recording of last year's event.
This package also includes a live compilation CD.
Story
courtesy of The Japan Times
Ennosuke Celebrates His 33rd Annual Summer Season at
the Kabukiza Theater
(Japan)
This
summer marks the 33rd annual summer season for Ichikawa
Ennosuke at the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, Japan. For
this year's celebration he is presenting not one, but
two kabuki classics: "Yotsuya Kaiden (The Ghost
Story at Yotsuya)" and "Chushingura (The 47
Loyal Retainers)." These two plays have been creatively
fashioned into a single three act dramatic production.
These
epic works of great complexity were combined by Ennosuke's
talented staff writer Ishikawa Koji and took a tremendous
ten years of diligent work to produce.
"Chushingura,"
which was originally a banruku play was written by Takeda
Izumo II in 1748 and was based on a chain of events
that happened after Daimyo Asano of Ako was ordered
to commit seppuku for attempting to murder Kira, the
shogun's head steward.
"Yoysuya
Kaidan" was written in 1825 by Tsuruya Nanboku
and is often considered a spinoff of "Chushingura."
Story
courtesy of The Japan Times.
All-Japanese Singing Group Makes History
(Japan)
Nikikai,
an all-classical vocal group presented "Der Rosenkavalier
(The Knight of the Rose)," a Richard Strauss original
German opera on June 20-27 at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
Hall. This is the first time an all Japanese singing
company has presented an opera in German. This is also
the first production in Japan directed by Guenter Kraemer,
one of Europe's finest, leading opera directors.
The
opera, set in Vienna in the 1740's, revolves around
Marie Therese, the thirty two year old wife of a marshal,
her underage lover Octavian, her country relative and
the daughter of a wealthy bourgeois.
For
future events at this theater call the ticket center
at (03) 3796-1831.
India
Fashion Week
July
18th through the 24th marked the first ever India Fashion
Week. For a long time designers all over the world have
been organizing themselves into councils, which form
the backbone of their respective industries. The Council
of Fashion Designers of America in New York, the Chambre
de Syndical in Paris, the Camera de Nazionale della
Moda Italiana in Milan, and the British Fashion Council
in London have all helped enhance their fashion industries
within their respective cities, including designers,
textile manufacturers, and even cosmetics.
Twice
a year the industry comes together to present their
ready-to-wear fashions to a targeted audience. Globally
these two weeks are recognized as "Fashion Week."
There has always been a fashion week in Milan, New York
or Hong Kong, but now there is an India Fashion Week,
which stands on the goal of serving as "a single
platform to facilitate buyer seller interaction within
the fashion industry." The event uses the country
name in order to represent the national scope of the
fashion industry in India unlike other countries where
the fashion industry is city specific.
August
1, 2003
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