Seeing in the Dark: Asia���s Independent Cinema Spaces in the Midst of Uncertainties

A while ago, I was involved with the magazine Nang, in helping with their special issue on film manifestos. At that time, as I reported here, I let them republish my translation of Aoyama Shinji���s "Nouvelle Vague Manifesto" (also available here), provided them with a new introduction, and arranged for Ryan Cook to pen a retrospective analysis of Aoyama���s piece.

This time, I���ve gotten involved in another special issue of Nang, this one online, focusing on independent cinema spaces in Asia. I will be writing��about mini-theaters in Japan, discussing in one section the issues such theaters faced��during the pandemic that I wrote about here. I also use Theater Kino in Sapporo as an example, based on an interview I did with owner/operate Nakajima Yo (who participated in the Japan Cuts discussion on Obayashi Nobuhiko). The issue is being edited by Davide Cazzaro and Aiko��Masubuchi, the former film programmer at the Japan Society in New York with whom I collaborated on the Obayashi Nobuhiko retro in 2015.