2024 Taipei Film Festival Special Presentation of “GIFT: A Film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi X Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi” Renowned Musician Eiko Ishibashi Performs Improvised Live Score on Site to the Silent Film Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
2024.04.16
The 26th Taipei Film Festival, set to take place this June, announced today a special screening featuring the exclusive premieres of acclaimed director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and the Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi’s latest work, "GIFT"--an audiovisual creation with a screening of Hamaguchi’s silent film, accompanied with a live score performance by Ishibashi.
"GIFT" is an audiovisual creation set to be accompanied by a live score. Setting out from the concept of "Music meeting Visuals," renowned Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi will perform live scores during the screening, creating a unique and exclusive cinematic experience for festival attendees.
The Festival will also screen "Evil Does Not Exist," an award-winning piece extended from the creation of "GIFT." Ishibashi will attend a post-screening Q&A session and shed light on the creative process behind her collaboration with Hamaguchi.
Following the success of "Drive My Car," which won the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, Hamaguchi's latest feature "Evil Does Not Exist" which was also composed by Ishibashi, became another critically acclaimed work that garnered the Jury Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the Best Film and the Best Original Music at the Asian Film Awards.. In fact, "GIFT," serves as the creative origin of "Evil Does Not Exist." The project started out as a commission that Ishibashi offered to Hamaguchi to produce visual imagery for her live performances. After extensive discussions and exploration, they decided to display the story through film. Out of the footage they made, Hamaguchi first completed the feature "Evil Does Not Exist," and later created a silent film dedicated to the“GIFT”performance.
The narratives of "Evil Does Not Exist" and the silent film in "GIFT" revolve around a father and daughter living a peaceful and simple life in a suburban village near Tokyo. Their ordinary lives are disrupted when developers plan to turn the forest into a "Glamping" site, highlighting the constantly-changing relationship between humans and nature. However, "Evil" and "GIFT" differ subtly in their editing and narrative style. "GIFT" presents a poetic silent imagery, enhanced by Ishibashi's live score performance, providing audiences with a unique viewing experience to contemplate the relationship between humanity and nature.
Through the distinctive presentation of the "GIFT" music performance session, Hamaguchi and Ishibashi have collaboratively crafted a groundbreaking audiovisual production that defies convention. Hamaguchi describes it as "a free-flowing conversation that ultimately transcends our imaginations." The dynamic between music, visuals, and storytelling breaks free from their conventional cinematic hierarchies, offering viewers a unique sensory perspective. Furthermore, Ishibashi's experimental music, combined with ambience and personal emotions, enriches the auditory experience. With the characteristic of live score performance, each live score session becomes a unique encounter, fostering resonance and attempting to redefine the relationship between sound, visuals, and narrative.
The 2024 Taipei Film Festival is scheduled to take place from June 21st to July 6th at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Xinyi VieShow Cinemas, and Spot Huashan Cinema. More line-up and events will be announced gradually. For further details, please stay tuned to the Taipei Film Festival official website. (https://www.taipeiff.taipei/tw/), Instagram (https://instagram.com/taipeiff) or FACEBOOK (https://www.facebook.com/TaipeiFilmFestival).
"GIFT" is an audiovisual creation set to be accompanied by a live score. Setting out from the concept of "Music meeting Visuals," renowned Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi will perform live scores during the screening, creating a unique and exclusive cinematic experience for festival attendees.
The Festival will also screen "Evil Does Not Exist," an award-winning piece extended from the creation of "GIFT." Ishibashi will attend a post-screening Q&A session and shed light on the creative process behind her collaboration with Hamaguchi.
Following the success of "Drive My Car," which won the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, Hamaguchi's latest feature "Evil Does Not Exist" which was also composed by Ishibashi, became another critically acclaimed work that garnered the Jury Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the Best Film and the Best Original Music at the Asian Film Awards.. In fact, "GIFT," serves as the creative origin of "Evil Does Not Exist." The project started out as a commission that Ishibashi offered to Hamaguchi to produce visual imagery for her live performances. After extensive discussions and exploration, they decided to display the story through film. Out of the footage they made, Hamaguchi first completed the feature "Evil Does Not Exist," and later created a silent film dedicated to the“GIFT”performance.
The narratives of "Evil Does Not Exist" and the silent film in "GIFT" revolve around a father and daughter living a peaceful and simple life in a suburban village near Tokyo. Their ordinary lives are disrupted when developers plan to turn the forest into a "Glamping" site, highlighting the constantly-changing relationship between humans and nature. However, "Evil" and "GIFT" differ subtly in their editing and narrative style. "GIFT" presents a poetic silent imagery, enhanced by Ishibashi's live score performance, providing audiences with a unique viewing experience to contemplate the relationship between humanity and nature.
Through the distinctive presentation of the "GIFT" music performance session, Hamaguchi and Ishibashi have collaboratively crafted a groundbreaking audiovisual production that defies convention. Hamaguchi describes it as "a free-flowing conversation that ultimately transcends our imaginations." The dynamic between music, visuals, and storytelling breaks free from their conventional cinematic hierarchies, offering viewers a unique sensory perspective. Furthermore, Ishibashi's experimental music, combined with ambience and personal emotions, enriches the auditory experience. With the characteristic of live score performance, each live score session becomes a unique encounter, fostering resonance and attempting to redefine the relationship between sound, visuals, and narrative.
The 2024 Taipei Film Festival is scheduled to take place from June 21st to July 6th at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Xinyi VieShow Cinemas, and Spot Huashan Cinema. More line-up and events will be announced gradually. For further details, please stay tuned to the Taipei Film Festival official website. (https://www.taipeiff.taipei/tw/), Instagram (https://instagram.com/taipeiff) or FACEBOOK (https://www.facebook.com/TaipeiFilmFestival).