Game over. Those words would erase the smile off the face of any video-game fanatic. But in Oshii Mamoru's 2001 film "Avalon," those could be the very last words you ever hear. This futuristic sci-fi film about a perilously addictive virtual-reality game — where a "death" can result in you meeting your maker in the real world — will be screened on July 21 from 9 p.m. as part of the "Japanese Cinema Eclectics" series.
Described by critics as a "live-action anime," the film fits into the series' avant-garde program, using CGI to create an enhanced reality on screen.
The film will be screened with English subtitles and feature an introduction and Q&A (in English) with longtime Japan resident and Japanese film expert Donald Richie.
After the screening, the venue, Nishi-Azabu club SuperDeluxe, will play host to a live performance by hip-hop collective Zulu Nation Japan.
The showing is organized by Temple's Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies as part of their "Youth and Imaginative Labor: East Asia and Beyond" conference, which will discuss (in English) the actions taken by young people in response to current political and social challenges. The conference is also being held in South Korea, Hong Kong and China.
Here in Japan, academic panel sessions will take place on July 21 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and July 22 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at Temple University's Japan Campus, Mita Hall Room 502. To register, e-mail [email protected]
For directions in English, visit www.tuj.ac.jp/newsite/main/maps/index.html
Admission to the film is 1,500 yen. SuperDeluxe is a short walk from Roppongi Station on the Hibiya or Toei Oedo subway lines. For more info, see www.tuj.ac.jp/imagineyouth