Kazuo Ohno's Mr. O Trilogy
Portrait of Mr. O
The first of three experimental films made by butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno, and directed by documentary filmmkaker Chiaki Nagano. Released in 1969, it was shot over a period of about a year in and around Ohno's home, the boiler room of Shoshin Girl's school (where Ohno was working at the time as a PE teacher), the uninhabited island of Sarushima in Tokyo Bay, and Hōshōji Temple in Yokohama, Japan. The results are experimental and dreamlike, blurring the line between documentary and dance film.
Prior to the screening will be a short introduction by Rebellious Bodies director Mai Burns.
Photo: Bob Fujisaki, courtesy of NPO Dance Archive Network
Mandala of Mr. O
The trilogy's second chapter, deepening Nagano and Ohno's collaboration. A ritualistic, dreamlike film tracing the dancer through cycles of movement and transformation, foreshadowing the butoh master he would become.
Image: From the film set, courtesy of NPO Dance Archive Network
Mr. O's Book of the Dead
The final instalment of the trilogy, and the only one in colour. Shot in numerous places across Japan from Lake Shikotsu in Hokkaido to Yokodai Pig Farm in Kanagawa, the film features 'Mr. O' (Kazuo Ohno) and a troupe of his students, including Mitsuyo Uesugi. In an interview Nagano once stated "to die is to be resurrected at the same time", and that this film was "about one of our deaths, and a starting point towards something new".
This showing will be followed by a special talk with Mitsuyo Uesugi, who will be sharing her experience of working on the film 50 years ago.
Photo: From the film set, courtesy of NPO Dance Archive Network