Film/Video Series JAPANESE NEW WAVE CINEMA JANUARY 8-29, 1999, $6 ($4 WALKER MEMBERS) AUDITORIUM

The films of New Wave masters Hani, Oshima, Masumura, and Teshigahara, which emerged at the same time that artist Yayoi Kusama was forging her multifarious works in New York, all reflect in various ways the same impulses behind her art: the drive for personal freedom, identity, and truth in the face of a monolithic, repressive "official" culture. Theirs was a frontal attack not only on conventional cinematic practice, but also on the myths and traditions of Japanese society: its pretense of civility, its supposed stability, its emphasis on group identity, conformity, feudal paternalism, and respect for the elderly. They attempted to establish a new identity--what Oshima called "a new subjectivity'' in the face of this negation of the individual. In the process, they created one of the most distinctive movements within the history of modern cinema.

Tickets for the screenings are $6 ($4 Walker members) per evening, except where noted. To purchase tickets in advance, call the box office at (612) 375-7622. With one exception, all films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

JANUARY 8     BLACK LIZARD JANUARY 9     INFERNO OF FIRST LOVE JANUARY 13     FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES HAIR OPERA JANUARY 15     SEISAKU'S WIFE WOMAN IN THE DUNES JANUARY 16     CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH DIARY OF A SHINJUKU THIEF JANUARY 20     THE KOUMIKO MYSTERY EAT THE KIMONO THE GOOD WIFE OF TOKYO JANUARY 22     SHE AND HE MANJI JANUARY 23     PASTORAL HIDE AND SEEK FAREWELL TO THE ARK JANUARY 27     GATE OF FLESH BAD BOYS JANUARY 29     KITCHEN MABOROSI

RELATED EXHIBITION LOVE FOREVER: YAYOI KUSAMA, 1958-1968 GALLERY A THROUGH MARCH 7 Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama created her multifarious artworks--paintings, sculptures, collages, and environmental pieces--at the same time the Japanese New Wave masters forged their new film aesthetic. Go here for more information.

THIS SERIES WAS CURATED BY JAMES QUANDT OF THE CINEMATHEQUE ONTARIO. PRESENTATION OF THE FILMS OF SUSUMU HANI HAVE BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY THE JAPAN FOUNDATION, TOKYO. THE HANI FILMS WERE CURATED BY DONALD RICHIE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TRIBUTE TO HANI AT THE TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL, PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE, AND THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK.