4/19,20,21: Japanese silent film screening accompanied by narrators or Benshi events by UCLA Film & Television Archive from April 19 to 21
UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities present “Art of Benshi” film screening from April 19 to April 21 in conjunction with The Art of the Benshi world tour.
Main venue of the screening is Billy Wilder Theater at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. Off-site venue is the United Theater on Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles on Friday, April 19.
During the silent film era in Japan, which extended into the early 1930s, film screenings were accompanied by live narrators, called benshi. Full-fledged artists in their own right, benshi familiarized and enlivened the cinema experience in Japan through expressive performances that illuminated and extended the emotional and thematic range of the works on screen.
Benshi such as Tokugawa Musei, Ikukoma Raiyfi and Nakamura Koenami became stars, drawing loyal audiences and commanding high salaries from exhibitors.
The art, today, is carried on by a small group of specialized performers who have been apprenticed by the preceding generations of benshi, creating a continuous lineage back to the original performers.
In 2019, the UCLA Film & Television Archive was honored to host a weekend of silent film screenings accompanied by some of the leading benshi today.
This year, the Archive is thrilled to partner again with the UCLA Yanai Initiative to host another weekend of silent film screenings and benshi performances, this time in conjunction with a first-of-its-kind national tour that will bring this rare experience to audiences across the country.
Pairing rare prints and new restorations of Japanese classics, this weekend-long series features three of Japan’s most renowned contemporary benshi, Ichirō Kataoka, Kumiko Ōmori and Hideyuki Yamashiro, performing their unique art live on stage in Japanese with English subtitles.
Every performance and screening will be accompanied by a musical ensemble with traditional Japanese instrumentation.
Tickets to the United Theater performance are $15 or $25 dollars, depending on the seats. They can be purchased here: https://www.axs.com/events/533819/the-art-of-the-benshi-tickets/staticDetails?_locale=en-US
The tickets to shows at the Hammer Museum are free, but will only be available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Programs & Events
April 19, 7:30 pm The United Theater on Broadway
Off-site: A Page of Madness + short films Tickets
April 20, 3:00 pm Orochi + short films Billy Wilder Theater
April 20, 7:30 pm The Water Magician + short films Billy Wilder Theater
April 21, 3:00 pm The Vindictive Snake + short films Billy Wilder Theater
April 21, 7:00 pm Man and Wife + short films Billy Wilder Theater
