MAY 27-29

The Powell Street Festival Society and Pacific Cinémathèque are pleased to present the third edition of “Kibatsu Cinema,” a celebration of the odd and the eccentric in Japanese pop culture and contemporary Japanese film. Kibatsu is a Japanese word denoting a person or thing that is, by ordinary standards, unusual or unconventional. As with our previous “Kibatsu Cinema” programs in 2007 and 2009, the quirky, smart, and stylish films on display here reveal the influences of a variety of Japan’s prominent pop-cultural streams, including manga and anime, pop and punk music, and the famed flamboyance of the country’s street fashions and youth cultures. This year, the Powell Street Festival partners with both the Pacific Cinémathèque and the DOXA Documentary Film Festival to present a unique series of over-the-top narratives, energetic anime and one playfully pulsating documentary.

“Kibatsu Cinema: eccentricity, popular culture and contemporary Japanese film” is a lead-up event to Vancouver’s 35th annual Powell Street Festival, a celebration of Japanese Canadian arts, culture and heritage. Festival weekend is July 30-31, with other events beginning in May. Please check www.powellstreetfestival.com for full schedule info

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Curated by Susanne Tabata
"During the run-up to this festival Japan was struck by an earthquake — affecting many of our friends in the film community who are part of this festival. Our prayers are with their families and all of Japan."

The curator wishes to acknowledge the following for theirsupport in this program:

Curatorial Support: Chris MaGee (J-Film Pow-Wow blogger and co-curator Shinsedai Cinema Festival Toronto). 

Anime Selection Team: Una Vernelli Forestor (aged 11), Avy Koziaktek aka Crowchild (aged 11), Zuki Allan (aged 12).

Special Thanks: Brian Belovarac (Janus Films NYC); Samuel Jamier(Japan Society NYC); Naomi Hocura, Kier-la Jeunesse (curator:SF IndieFest), Rika Davis & Robert Napton (Bandai Entertainment USA); Asako Suzuki (Kadokawa Shoten Publishing); Tomo Kawate (Eleven Arts USA); Mongrel Media Canada/Sony Pictures Classics USA; Lewis Rapkin; Takako Hirayama (Nikkatsu Corporation); Dorothy Woodend (DOXA); Japan Foundation; Canada Council for the Arts; Department of Canadian Heritage; British Columbia Arts Council; the Provinceof British Columbia through Direct Access to Charitable Gaming; City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs.