Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2012

The vibrant documentary Flamenco, Flamenco (2010; pictured) will screen at Bunkamura’s Le Cinema (2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku; www.bunkamura.co.jp) from February 11. Director Carlos Saura uses live performances and interviews to look at the roots of flamenco dance and music, as well as profile many of the current top performers in the world. www.flamenco-flamenco.com… Veteran actress Kaoru Yachigusa will be honored with a retrospective at Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro (3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro Toshima-ku; www.shin-bungeiza.com), February 2-17. The former Takarazuka performer appeared in a 1954 film version of Madame Butterfly, becoming the first Japanese actress to play the title character, and continues to work today, appearing in last year’s The Legacy of the Sun at the age of 80. Yachigusa is scheduled to give a talk on her long career at the theater on February 11… The Tokyo Northern Lights festival will bring Scandinavian cinema and music to Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp), February 11-16. The eclectic program includes the silent Swedish film Witchcraft Through the Ages (1921), four films by contemporary Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridrilsson and the Norwegian thriller or (2005). http://www.tnlf.jp