Just Visiting This Planet

In the 60's and into the 70's, Kazuo Ohno himself produced three 16mm films. His many performances at the "Teatro Fonte" in Yokohama have been preserved with high quality Beta cameras. In addition, the television station NHK has made recordings of many of his theater performances since the premiere of "The Dead Sea" in 1985. Together, the Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio and NHK own over one hundred hours of footage. This is complemented by a 1994 film by Daniel Schmid and new 16mm footage of Kazuo Ohno filmed especially for this project in October of 2000. From these resources, this 111 minute Video/DVD was assembled. "Beauty and Strength" includes dance performances, film excerpts and interviews, examples of Ohno's drawings and writings, as well as biographical information, creating a comprehensive look into the world of Kazuo Ohno's dance.

Comprising historic archive footage and texts this DVD box enlightens us greatly about Yoshito Ohno's here and now. Butoh has a distinct starting point, namely, in 1959, with Kinjiki , a duet featuring Tatsumi Hijikata and Yoshito Ohno. His father, the legendary Kazuo Ohno created another epoch-making opus in 1977 Admiring La Argentina, with Yoshito Ohno as production manager. These links are no mere coincidence. To date, we've tended to overlook Yoshito Ohno, barely granting him the recognition he merits. Just as dance requires a lengthy gestation period in which to evolve, his dance has finally come into our field of vision, in all its freshness and stark-nakedness, linking Butoh's origins to its zenith, to a point where he now stands at a crossroads.

A document of Tatsumi Hijikata's Butoh dance with Kazuo Ohno as the guest dancer shot in Hijikata's early period when he was emerging as the originator of Butoh. All of the male dancers are dressed up with evening suits and move gracefully, yet an intruder breaks up the whole scene abruptly. The film is worth seeing, even if just to see a memorable gay duet of Hijikata and Ohno. Overexposed, washed out images are sandwiched among normal ones.

In a mockumentary style reality show, we follow X-Coast aka Bojan Cizmic going over the world and marketing his X-Coast Deejay Academy. On his travels he meets various known alumni from the techno scene. But when trouble starts, return to homeland is the best solution.

A visual documentary of Einstürzende Neubauten, the German underground band, by Japanese cult director Sogo Ishii, made during their 1985 tour of Japan. The band makes an elaborate and remarkably choreographed appearance in the ruins of an old ironworks which was scheduled for demolition; footage of same was incorporated into the movie and a brief appearance on stage.

A recording of a memorial concert dedicated to Dežo Ursiny, one of the founders of Slovak modern rock music.

A selection of seemingly unconnected scenes featuring Nick Cave, Blixa Bargeld, Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich. Losely based on Voltaire's satire "Candide".

As one of Belgrade’s last DIY anti-nationalist spaces faces closure, its community gathers for a final night — a farewell that becomes a quiet act of resistance.

In search of the reality of life for independent musicians in the digital age, the film and art collective "relativ kollektiv" spent over a year accompanying the protagonists of the label and network "Analogsoul" in Leipzig, Berlin, Erfurt, and Jena. The film introduces the musicians in their everyday environments: in rehearsal rooms, during field recordings, at concerts, but also at their "day jobs." Directors André Klar and Benjamin Büttner discover situations between dedication and resignation and shed light on the everyday questions of people whose lives are based on their passion.

Morada Nova - Viajamos pro Interior sem Passagem de Volta para Criar um Álbum

A documentary about composer/producer/performer JG Thirlwell and his musical alter-egos, including Foetus, Steroid Maximus and Manorexia. Featuring interviews with Thirlwell, Matt Johnson (The The), Alex Hacke (Neubauten), Michael Gira (Swans), Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch and more.

A multi-awarded 23 minute short film about pansexual punk rockers in a toxic relationship in London’s underground music scene

Everything changes for a rising hip-hop star, SEMBRÉ, and his manager, MARLENE, a talented indie artist in her own right; as they are dealing with the collapse of their five-year romance, a new producer shows up with a major record deal, forcing them to confront their past while navigating the price of loyalty and fame in the underground Chicago music scene.

Il est minuit, Paris s'éveille

An alternative documentary following the trail of blood and carnage of Philadelphia’s own Deathmatch Rock n’ Roll pioneers, Eat the Turnbuckle, from beer-soaked bars to the largest stage in the world of metal.

This documentary by Paolo Fazzini revolves around the birth of italian rap music movement in early 90's.

The dark sensibilities and cultural resonances of Butoh, the radical Japanese dance movement, are explored in this multilayered work. Profoundly rooted in both traditional and contemporary Japanese culture, Butoh arose in a spirit of revolt in the early 1960s. Characterized by frank sexuality and bodily distortions, Butoh transforms traditional dance movements into new forms, stripping away the taboos of contemporary Japanese culture to reveal a secret world of darkness and irrationality.

Volar Con Un Ala

Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.

Common American Crow centers on Doug Mioducki, a Denver local musician and record store employee who happens to be bonded to a murder of crows.