Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2010

© 2008 DUEA FILM - MEDUSA FILM

Veteran Italian director Pupi Avati’s drama Giovanna’s Father (2008; pictured) will screen at Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp) and Ginza Cine Patos (4-8-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku; www.humax-cinema.co.jp) from June 26. Set in Avati’s native Bologna in the years before and after WWII, and shot in a style evocative of aged family photographs, the film tells the story of a father who dotes on his mentally unbalanced daughter, standing by her even after she’s institutionalized for murdering a classmate.

You can catch Argentinean music documentary Café de los Maestros (2008) at Shibuya’s Le Cinema (2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya; www.bunkamura.co.jp) from June 26. The film features interviews with the originators of tango, many of them in their 70s or 80s, and ends with scenes of a gala reunion concert. The project is the brainchild of Gustavo Santaolalla, who has composed music for Hollywood films such as Brokeback Mountain, but wanted to better understand the roots of the national music of his native country.

Portuguese director Pedro Costa is known for making films about social outsiders in his native Lisbon. So fans were somewhat surprised by his latest film, Nothing Changes (2009), a black-and-white documentary on French actress/singer Jeanne Balibar. Balibar is the daughter of a renowned Marxist philosopher and acted in films such as Code 46 (2003) and Clean (2004) before launching a music career. Nothing Changes will screen at Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp) from late July. Balibar performs at SuperDeluxe on June 26.

Jeanne Balibar
French actress and singer performs songs featured in the upcoming documentary about her. June 26, 7:30pm, ¥3,000 (adv)/¥3,500 (door). SuperDeluxe, Nishi-Azabu. Tel: 03-5412-0515.

Unless noted, Japanese films screen without English subtitles. Non-English-language films are shown with Japanese subtitles only