YORIKO DOGUCHI FILM
FESTIVAL
In Celebration of a 25-Year
Career
Special Events Nov. 7 -
Nov. 20, 2009
| Nov. 7
(sat) 17:50~ Yoriko Doguchi Talks with Kishin Shinoyama after screening "Yoriko Doguchi in Digi-Kishin"(15min.) At the age of 15, Yoriko Doguchi was chosen as the cover girl for the November 7 issue of "Shuukan Asahi " magazine. This (dressed) cover photograph was taken by Kishin Shinoyama , the most famous photographer in Japan, whose best known work internationally may be the photo used on the cover of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy" LP. In 1983, after having graduated from the high school, Doguchi posed in several undressed photo sessions for "Gekisha ", which was Shinoyama's photo serial on "GORO " magazine. "GORO " magazine had a large circulation. Shinoyama's "Gekisha" photos had been very popular among young men since the middle of the 70s. Doguchi became one of their beloved pinup idols. On the first day of YDFF (Yoriko Doguchi Film Festival), you will watch a 15-minute movie "Yoriko Doguchi/ Digi-Kishin", which captures Doguchi in her early days, and you will literally SEE her from the Gekisha era for the first time on the big screen. After its screening, Doguchi will have a special talk with Mr. Shinoyama. Simply, the opening event of Yoriko Doguchi Film Festival can't be more appropriate than this, to celebrate her 25-year career. |
| Nov. 14(sat)
17:35~ Yoriko Doguchi Talks with Kiyoshi Kurosawa When I first broke the great news about YDFF (YORIKO DOGUCHI FILM FESTIVAL) and announced some special events for it, I guess that everyone must have wondered if Kiyoshi Kurosawa would appear. The answer is Yes. On November 14, YDFF will present you a special talk show by Yoriko Doguchi and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It will be a genuine "special" event. In 1984, when Doguchi was 19, her life came to its first turning point when she was starred in a major role in a "roman poruno " (romantic porn) film. "Roman poruno" is a brand of sex-oriented films by Nikkatsu, the oldest film production company in Japan. Most of them were low-budget films, featuring obscure young and interesting actresses, actors and filmmakers. Some of their works won acclaim for their quality in the 70s in particular. Doguchi's debut film was directed by a young and promising director named Kiyoshi Kurosawa . Its working title was "Joshidaisei Hazukashi Zeminaaru" (A coed taking a seminar on shyness). Although Doguchi still had some qualms about playing a major role in a roman poruno film, she was also excited to work with young and relaxed people who were heavily influenced by Godard and Nouvelle Vague as well. Unfortunately, Nikkatsu, the film company, refused to release the film, due to its not being lascivious enough for a (softcore) porn film. Despite the efforts of Kurosawa and his supporters to purchase the film back from Nikkatsu, some sexual sequences had to be cut from the original version to pass the censors as a general (non-porn) movie. Moreover, to make up for the missing sequences, other new sequences needed to be filmed. In 1985, when Doguchi's debut film was eventually shown, it had been reborn as a completely new film, "Doremifa Musume no Chi wa Sawagu" (The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl, or Bumpkin Soup ). While there was much discussion of its pros and cons, "Doremifa" was acclaimed as one of the most unique and brilliant films of the year. Yoriko Doguchi suddenly became one of the icons for the new generation known as "shin-jinrui" (new humankind). Her second turning point came in the mid 90s, again, with Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa was making a series of low-budget films, the "Katte ni Shiyagare"(Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself) series. Doguchi appears in every title in that series, as a mysterious woman named Yumiko Haneda. In the "Katte ni Shiyagare"series, Doguchi shows a more sophisticated beauty than her in "Doremifa Musume", her earliest work with Kurosawa. In 1997, Kurosawa's "Cure"(Cure) gave another boost to Doguchi's career. She improved significantly in this film. She is in only one episode of the haunting thriller, but Doguchi's off-kilter sense of acting expresses vulnerability and the collapse of her identity, and even brings a sleepwalker's nightmarish vision into the whole body of the film. "Cure" brought Kurosawa to international recognition. In 2000, Kurosawa's "Karisuma"(Charisma) was released. In "Karisuma", an enigmatic and allegoric tale about a tree, Doguchi plays Chizuru, the younger of the Jinbo sisters. Doguchi achieves success in this highly ambiguous role that combines nymph-like playfullness and little-devil craftiness. The essence of Doguchi is fully and unmistakably revealed in this film. |
| Nov. 8 (sun) 20:40~ Yoriko Doguchi Talks with Masanori Tominaga, 'Jigoku Sensei' PV screening, & a special session with Etsuko Yakushimaru (vocalist of Soutaiseiriron) Masanori Tominaga is a trully promising film director whose Pandora's Box is currently acclaimed for its unique qnd excellent of the based novel by Osamu Dazai. Yoriko appears in Pandora's Box adn her acting has been winning praise since the movie was released. In 2008, while making this movie, Tominaga also directed a music video of Soutaiseiriron (相対性理論 The Theory of Relativity), "the Smiths meet lolita" like band which is increasingly popular among indie-rock fans now. (the clip for "Jigoku Sensei" (地獄先生 Hell+Teacher) @ youtube) In this clip, Yoriko is starred as the mysterious nurse with a cigarrette. On November 8, Yoriko will have a talk show with this young and promising director Tominaga, presumably about some backstage stories from their Pandora's Box~Jigoku Sensei shootings. Tominaga once admitted that he had been a big fan of Yoriko since he first watched her on a TV drama. Moreover, another big event of this evening is a session with Etsuko Yakushimaru, the chantuese of Soutaiseiriron. *For this special set, a numbered ticket (given at the entrance) will be required, separately from an entrance ticket. |
| Nov. 13
(fri) 20:05~ Special Premiere Show including a special gig by Paititi *For this special set, 1,200 yen will be charged separately from an entrance fee. (1,000 yen for a member of Cinemavera or a customer over 60 years old) 1. "Ukulele (Paititi the Movie)" (2009) Directed by Tomoo Haraguchi starring Paititi, ukulele band featuring Yoriko Doguchi 2. Paititi special gig In 2007, Yoriko debuted in a band, enhencing her career further. It's a ukulele band called Paititi, which features primarily Douguchi and Hidenori Ishida. With several other musician friends, they play not only Hawaian music but also an amalgam of various kinds of music, influenced by Reinhardt's virtuoso performances, Beatles' melodies, Weather Report's funkiness, and more. Paititi's music should be called "crossover ukulele". They released their debut album "Paititi" in 2008. (See their gigs at YouTube:http://jp.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=542DDA0AF526379C) (Paititi's page @ My Space ) Tomoo Haraguchi, one of the best-known special make-up artist, whose name is familiar to Yoriko's fans as the director of Mikadoroid, has been working with Paititi to make a film about this ukulele namd (In fact, he directed a clip for Paititi's 'Ukulele Rendezvous'→youtube). On November 13, as Special Premiere Show, Paititi's fiirst motion picture is finally going to be shown! Its title is simply "Ukulele" with a subtitle 'Paititi the Movie'. This will feature, of course, many footages from Paititi's gigs and Yoriko playing the ukulele and singing. Moreover, this evening show will include Paititi's special gig! |
| Nov. 15 (sun) 14:00~ "A Reading Session" : Yoriko Doguchi Recites "Womb Conference" (Shikyu Kaigi, written by Yoriko Doguchi 2007), featuring a guitarist Falcon. In 2004, Yoriko was diagnosed with uterine cancer and had an operation to have her ovaries and womb removed. She had married a TV director in 1997 and they were childless. Because of Yoriko's brush with death, she experienced so much depression and despair that she became dependent on alchol and even attempted suicide. In 2007, Shogakukan published a book by Yoriko called "Shikyuu Kaigi" ("The Womb's Conference", named after "The Animals' Conference " by Erich Kästner). It is a semi-biographical story that deals with everything from Yoriko's childhood to her struggle against the uterine cancer. Despite its saddness, Yoriko's storytelling has a dark sense of humor and is somewhat influenced by magical realism, which blurs the boundaries between imagination and documentary storytelling. It is as unique as Yoriko's cinematic existence. "Shikyuu Kaigi" has been acclaimed as a creative and imaginative book by critics, and is also viewed as a supportive book by many uterine cancer patients. In 2008, she also writes columns for newspapers and magazines. In addition to these works, another of her impotant activities is "Reading Session ". "Reading Session" is a reading of her book ("Shikyu Kaigi") with music, involving a guitarist named Falcon. They have already had seven successful sessions in Tokyo, Saitama, Osaka, Hokkaido, Okinawa and Hiroshima. On November 15, they will have a session for the Yoriko Doguchi Film Festival. |
