SADO Tempest UK Screening At Sci-Fi London Festival 2013

A haunting Japanese cinematic rendition of the Shakespeare play “The Tempest”!

Date: 6 May 2013

Time: 16.15

Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, E15 1BX London

Includes a Q&A with Producer Paul Smith after screening.

Sado Tempest is a SF rock musical version of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” completely shot on the island of Sado, blending Japanese rock music with elements of traditional Japanese culture, including Oni Daiko and Noh.

This is a film about exile and regeneration . . .

The Emperor Juntoku, Nichiren and Zeami were all exiled to Sado, leaving a rich deposit of culture and history. The stark beauty of the volcanic coastline in winter, the ruins of the Gold mine and the primeval forest in the interior are all stunning locations, which form a natural stage for a re-interpretation of Shakespeare’s last play about exile and regeneration.

J-rock group Jitterbug (Image courtesy of 100 Meter Films)

STORY

It is the near future. Dangerous rock music is banned. Rebel singer Juntoku is exiled to an island where permanent winter reigns. There he is thrown into a brutal prison, but becomes intrigued by a mysterious young woman, who appears to have lost her mind, who sings snatches of ancient “Demon Songs.”

Jun escapes from the prison and flees to the interior of where he meets a man with a mysterious past, who seems to know something about the Demons and their songs. Jun begins to piece together the fragments of the “Demon Songs,” trying to create a new work.

As he does so he begins to understand that the songs contain a terrible power. Maybe the Demon songs brought the terrible storm that destroyed the island? Maybe nothing is really as it seems? Will Juntoku complete the song? Will he sing to bring the storm or to bring back the Spring?

CAST

• Noriko Eguchi
• JITTERBUG
• Hirotaro Honda
• Yoji Tanaka
• Minoru Sawatari
• Ryota Tsuchiya
• Kyokaku Ichi
• Tsutomu Niwa

Miranda played by Noriko Eguchi (Image courtesy of 100 Meter Films)

DIRECTOR

John Williams studied French and German Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he began making films. In 1988 he moved to Japan and has lived there ever since. He began making short films in Japan and set up a production company, 100 Meter Films and wrote and directed his first feature, Firefly Dreams (Ichiban Utsukushi Natsu), which was released in 2001. Firefly Dreams won many awards at international film festivals. He wrote and directed the cult film, Starfish Hotel in 2007, Starfish Hotel stars some of Japan’s major stars, including Kouichi Sato, Kiki, Tae Kimura and Akira Emoto. Sado Tempest is his third Japanese feature film. He also teaches Film Production, Scriptwriting and Translation at Sophia University.

It is understood that Williams is the only director from the UK making feature films in Japan.

For all enquires relating to Sado Tempest and/or 100 Meter Films back catalogue, please contact Andrew Kirkham at:  silkpurse.ent@btinternet.com

100 Meter Films Official Website

On set: Director John Williams (Image courtesy of 100 Meter Films)

SCI-FI LONDON

Designed to be a festival that “takes a serious look at sci-fi and fantasy, bringing new, classic and rare movies from around the world to the UK”, Sci-Fi-London (SFL) annually screens world and UK Premieres, seminal cult classics, as well as documentaries, debates and talks. Read more here.

Sci-Fi London Official Website

Related Posts:

Globe To Globe Festival: Chiten Theatre Company Performs Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”

Theatre Review: Anjin: The Shogun And The English Samurai