Isao Yamada Explained

is Japanese film director, graphic artist, and manga author.

Career

Yamada started his artistic career by working at Shuji Terayama's theatre company, Tenjousajiki. In 1974, he was appointed as an artistic crew in Terayama's feature-film, Denen ni Shisu (Pastoral: To Die in the Country). He also worked for Boxer (1977), Kusameikyu (Grass Labyrinth, 1979), Saraba Hakobune (Farewell to the Ark, 1982).

At the same time in Sapporo, Yamada started a film club, Gingagahou-sha Eiga Club, with his colleague Yumekichi Minatoya in 1977. Ever since his first 8mm film made for the club, Subaru no Yoru (An Incident of Night) was selected for Pia Film Festival, he has been constantly working with 8mm films (occasionally 16mm). Most of them are short 'private films' and named by himself 'Yamavicascope'. Since 1991, La Camera in Tokyo has produced regular duo-screenings of his films and the works by Yamazaki Mikio. In the filmography of Yamavicascope, the film-correspondences between Yamada and Yamazaki are titled as OUFUKU (Film Letter) I~V (1986~2006). In addition to screenings in Japan, Yamada's experimental art works have been featured at Cannes,^[1] Oberhausen,^[2] Stockholm and other film festivals. His feature-films are Anmonaito no sasayaki wo kiita (I've heard the ammonite's murmur:1992), Jouhatsu Tabinikki (The Soul Odyssey: 2003) based on the essay by Yoshiharu Tsuge, and Shutorumu unto Doranku (Sturm und Drang: 2014).

In addition to the cinema work, Yamada works with the media of manga, painting and graphic design. His calligraphic font has been appointed for a number of publications and advertisement posters.^[3]

Film works

There are more than one hundred oeuvres, The following is only a selected list and excludes the feature-films mentioned above.

• 1977　 An incident of night, 25min, colour, 8mm (selected for Pia Film Festival)
• 1978　 Night Window, 20min, colour, 8mm
• 1980　 A marine barber, 25min, colour, 8mm
• 1981　 Way home, 25min, colour, 8mm (selected for The Berlin International Film Festival)
• 1982　 Night of the Milky Way Railroad, 45min, colour, 8mm
• 1983　 The fan of spiral shell, 12min, colour, 16mm
• 1984　 Sad Gadolf, 20min, colour, 16mm
• 1985　 All Alone, 10min, colour, 8mm
• 1986　 A lion and violet, 65min, colour, 8mm (shot in USA)
• 1987　 HINA, 3min, colour, 8mm
• 1988　The sketch of snow, 25min, colour, 8mm
• 1989　FLAMME, 9min, colour, 8mm
• 1990　The crown of dreams, 16min, colour, 16mm
• 1991　Recollect, 17min, colour, 8mm
• 1992 Tokyo dusk, 33min, colour, 16mm
• 1993　A moment before both eyes memorize a phenomenon, 48min, colour, 8mm
• 1994 Tears of socks, 9min, colour, 8mm
• 1995 The descendant of androgynous, 25min, colour, 8mm
• 1996 　Fragmentation of night, 12min, B&W, 16　
• 1997　Long good-bye, 32min, Ｂ＆Ｗ, 16mm
• 1998　I have been looking at the dream continuously., 20min, colour, 8mm
• 1999　Lemon, 12min, colour, 8mm
• 2000　Moon globe, 28min, colour, 35mm (selected and bought by the 46th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)
• 2001　PUZZLE, 20min, B&W, 8mm, The sun which shone like a pearl, 15min, colour, 8mm (shot in France)
• 2002　Every day, 50min, colour, 8mm
• 2003 Suspicious alley, 22min, colour, 8mm
• 2004 Germany:maiglöckchen, 30min, B&W and colour, 8mm (shot in Germany), The north glimmer, 30min, colour, 8mm (shot in Sweden)
• 2005 Skelton in the boy's arms, 48min, colour, 8mm
• 2006 Fragilitat, 25min, colour, 8mm (selected for the 52nd International Short Film Festival Oberhausen) 　　　
• 2007 Delicate eyelashes, 36min, B&W, 8mm (music by Simon Fisher Turner)
• 2008 Chocolate, 20min, colour, 8mm
• 2009 Tokyo Nostalgia, 32min, B&W, 8mm
• 2010 Winterreise (Winter Journey), 38min, B&W and colour, 8mm
• 2011 Despair arabesque, 34min, colour, 8mm
• 2012 Instant memory, 34min, colour, 8mm
• 2013 Looking for my vision, 32min, B&W and colour, 8mm
• 2014 Kioku (Reflection), 23min, B&W, 8mm (selected and bought by the 61st International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)
• 2015 Mosaïque en blanc, 35min, B&W and colour, 8mm
• 2016 Strasse - transient passage, 40min, B&W and colour, 8mm
• 2017 Apparition's Moment, B&W, 8mm

G.S. Sirius, B&W and colour, 8mm

Art works

• Koutou Yakyoku - Aishuu no machi ni hoshi ga furu - Momoiro Tsukiyo hen (Red Gaslight Serenade - Stars falling down over the nostalgic Town), 1975
• Aka Uogashi (Red Fish Riverside), 1976
• Hinata no Nioi (The Fragrance of Sunny Side, 1992
• Ukiyo (Floating World), 1994
• Tawamuro (À la folie), 1995
• Utsubuse (Sur le ventre), 1998
• Itazura (Mischief), 2000
• Michi kusa, 2001
• Midori kame (Green Turtle), 2005
• Fuyu no neko no nakigoe (The Creeping of A Winter Cat), 2007
• Dandizumu no namida (Tears of Dandyism), 2008
• Ningyo (Sirène), 2009
• Moeru youna orengi iro no senkou de kakomareta aoi yokogao (A blue profile outlined by the burning orange dim light), 2010
• Watashi no Aoi Touno nakani Darega iruno (There is someone in my blue tower), 2011
• Gozen sanjini rousoku no higa aozameru (The candle light turning blue at 3:00 am), 2013

See also

• Shuji Terayama
• Tenjō Sajiki
• Akira Uno
• Yoshiharu Tsuge
• Morio Agata
• Tengai Amano
• Simon Fisher Turner
• International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
• Cannes Film Festival

References

• YAMADA ISAO Yumeno fiirudo (Isao Yamada The Filed of Dreams)　Image Garireo, Tokyo, 1990
• Hoshi no Fragmento - Yamada Isao no Ashioto (Fragmentation of Star -) Kobe Art Village Centre ed., Waizu publishing, Tokyo, 2003
• The Cosmology OF ISAO YAMADA II, YHI Ylva Salon ed., Tokyo & Stockholm, Kougeisha, Tokushima, 2015

External links

• website
• Stockholm Film Festival
• und Drang
• http://kougeisha.net/　Kougeisha

Notes and References

1. Web site: ANMONAITO NO SASAYAKI WO KIITA (J'AI ENTENDU L'AMMONITE MURMURER). Festival de Cannes. 23 November 2015.
2. News: Ostria. Vincent. Au film du temps Oberhausen, doyen mondial des festivals de court métrage, atteint sa cinquantième année. L'Humanité. 22 November 2015. 24 April 2004.
3. For example, Suzuki Seijun (1996): Hanajikoku, Suzuki Souji (1998) Match Itppon no hanashi, Uno Akyra (2007):Tingel Grimm, Amano Tengai (2009): Amano Tengai Mangekyou,