The VCinema Show Episode 34: Art Theatre Guild
In this first of a two-part series of episodes, we look at the Art Theatre Guild (ATG), a Japanese independent film production company that was at the forefront of independent and experimental film in ’60s and ’70s. As an entity, the ATG assisted in the production of films by Shuji Terayama, Akio Jissoji, Juzo Itami, Koji Wakamatsu, Nagisa Oshima, Shohei Imamura, and other “New Wave” directors of the era.
Julian Ross, Program Coordinator at the BFI Southbank in London, joins us to talk about the ATG as well as the retrospective, Shinjuku Diaries: Films from The Art Theatre Guild of Japan, which he helped program for the theater.
Email: vcinema@variedcelluloid.net
Direct link: Episode 34.
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About The Author
Jon Jung
Jon Jung (aka “Coffin Jon”) is the producer and host of the VCinema podcast and editor-in-chief of the VCinema blog. He is an avid movie fan who specializes in Japanese cinema, but enjoys everything from artsy high-brow to mega-billion blockbusters to straight-to-video turds. As an Asian-American, he got the best of all cinematic worlds as a child by receiving mega-doses of Ozu, Bruce Lee, Kamen Rider, and American drive-in movies in addition to a steady diet of punk rock, Japanese literature, and Buddhism. He spent six years in Japan as an English teacher and translator. In 2004, he returned to the United States to complete his Masters in Language Education and continue his career as a language educator and cultural anthropologist with a focus on language policy and language shift. Jon is a former Myrle Clark Award recipient for excellence in creative writing and has contributed to World Film Locations: Tokyo (Intellect, 2011).