JFF+ INDEPENDENT CINEMA, a special streaming program, organized by the Japan Foundation, is shining the spotlight on independent theaters, so called “mini-theaters,” that have bolstered Japan’s film culture. The free program aimed at overseas audiences is streaming Japanese films selected by managers of mini-theaters throughout Japan.
Mini-theaters are small movie theaters that operate independently from major film companies. Approximately 70% of the 1,292 films released in Japan in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were shown at mini-theaters in various locations in Japan. mini-theaters have become valuable venues where audience members can encounter diverse films. This article features the history and significance surrounding these mini-theaters in Japan.

Text: Tamaki Tsuchida Editing: The Japan Foundation

The COVID-19 pandemic and movie theaters

From February to March 2020, the spread of COVID-19 infections increased in Japan as well, and it has now been two-and-a-half years since culture and arts activities began being impacted. During this time, the Japanese movie industry has been hit hard. Box-office revenue in 2020 dropped 45% from the previous year to 143.2 billion yen. Though earnings at the box office slightly grew in 2021 to 161.9 billion yen, it’s a far cry from the 261.1 billion-yen market size of 2019, which saw the largest box-office revenue since 2000. Movie theaters were forced to accept suspending business, requests for shorter business hours, and limited audience sizes, but one of the conceivable contributing factors is that people, especially seniors, went to the cinema less because they were asked to refrain from leaving home. Even today when the state of emergency has been lifted and people are returning to normal life, the number of people going to movie theaters is still recovering, as in other countries.

Amid this, mini-theaters and small-scale theaters like revival houses that mostly show low-budget films, independent films by young filmmakers, and old films have been greatly affected by the pandemic and are tottering on the economic brink. To combat this risk faced by movie theaters, the SAVE the CINEMA project was launched in April 2020 by volunteers involved in film. The project gathered over 90,000 signatures for a petition seeking urgent support for mini-theaters and submitted it to the government and relevant authorities. In addition, film directors including Koji Fukada and Ryusuke Hamaguchi established the Mini-Theater Aid and gained support from approximately 30,000 people through crowdfunding. In about a month, the fund collected 330 million yen in funding, and approximately 3 million yen was distributed to 118 theaters. In the same period, actors such as Arata Iura, Takumi Saito, and Makiko Watanabe launched the mini-theater Park and mounted activities to support mini-theaters throughout the country.

The pandemic actually brought attention to the term “mini-theater” and the existence of the movie theaters because their survival was at stake. As a result, two things can be said to have been made clear. First, the fragility of the business foundation of small-scale move theaters came to light. Second, people became aware for the first time of the necessity of public support that steadfastly sustains movie theaters and specialized organizations that take on that role. It also gave visible form to people’s desire to retain the experience of watching films at movie theaters. Above all, the fact that support for mini-theaters and revival houses was much greater than imagined once again made us cognizant of the significance the existence of such theaters has.

Diversity ensured by mini-theaters

The term, “mini-theater” is in fact, Japlish. It refers to movie theaters that are independently managed without direct influence from major film production/distribution companies. They carry out programs consisting of films predicated on release in one or several theaters, old films, and new films that have finished their first run in theaters. Since they often show artistically excellent films and old films, the term, “mini-theater” is often not distinguished from the designation of “revival house,” but recently instances can be seen here and there of its use as a general term for a movie theater that is not a cinema complex. Furthermore, because mini-theaters have a strong tendency to “plan theatrical productions/film screenings with avant‐garde themes, etc.” (from the Kojien dictionary), it has also become common to see the words “art theater” and “art house,” similar to English. The preferences and characteristics of movie theaters emerge because mini-theaters choose films to show based on their own judgment criteria. Therefore, it’s not unusual for a movie theater to have its own devoted fans.

According to the “Eiga Joei Katsudo Nenkan 2021 (Almanac of Film Screenings 2021)” (issued by the Japan Community Cinema Center), there are currently 3,687 screens in Japan. Of those, 88%, or 3,249 screens, are in cinema complexes (movie theaters with five or more screens in a single facility). The remaining approximately 12% are 438 screens at other movie theaters. Of those, 240 screens are in mini-theaters, meaning that overall they comprise no more than around 6.5% of screens. However, the 596 movie theaters that exist throughout the country break down into 360 cinema complexes and 236 others. Out of those, 136 are mini-theaters. When it comes to facility size, mini-theaters were once regarded as generally seating 300 or less, but today a variety exist, from those with 50 seats to others with around 200. They are not necessarily small, even when compared to seating capacity at a single screen in cinema complexes.

According to research by the Japan Community Cinema Center, of the 1,292 films released in Japan in 2019 before the pandemic, approximately 70% were shown in mini-theaters while 518 films (approx. 40%) were shown exclusively in mini-theaters. This goes to show that if mini-theaters didn’t exist, around half of the films would lose screening venues. That is, the work of such movie theaters is precisely why the diversity of films in Japan is being ensured. In other countries, there are organizations that promote film screenings, such as the CNC in France, KOFIC in South Korea, and FFA in Germany. In many cases there are systems established that aid art houses and independent movie theaters similar to the mini-theaters in Japan. However, cases like Japan are quite unusual where over 100 mini-theaters exist not only in major cities, but also small and medium cities, with little or no public support.

Mini-theaters as social and cultural junctions

In the sense noted earlier, the history of mini-theaters in Japan is the actualization of film diversity. The origins can be traced back to movie theaters used as receptacles for films distributed by the Art Theatre Guild (ATG), a distribution company jointly established in 1961 by Toho, Toho Towa, and Sanwa Kogyo among others. The Nichigeki Bunka and Shinjuku Bunka movie theaters in Tokyo can be said to have been the trailblazers of this. Influenced by the art theater movement of the 1950s in the West, the ATG was modeled after its predecessor, the Japan Art Theatre created by Kashiko Kawakita of Towa Film and others and established as a distribution company with the aim of showing foreign films that, as noted earlier, were difficult to commercially distribute. Centering on European films such as "Wild Strawberries" and "Mother Joan of the Angels", the ATG distributed films independently from major companies in a mini chain of approximately ten theaters located in large cities including Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe in addition to Tokyo. In 1967, the ATG collaborated with independent productions and began producing films. It presented films from Nagisa Oshima, Masahiro Shinoda, and Yoshishige Yoshida who continued producing films after jumping ship from a major film production company, as well as many ambitious, avant-garde films like "Funeral Parade of Roses" and "The Youth Killer". It built a counter culture in Japanese movie history from the 1960s to 1970s.

Later, EQUIPE DE CINEMA, a movement begun by Etsuko Takano and Kashiko Kawakita, introduced many films in a single theater format using Iwanami Hall (built in 1968; 1968-2022). These included Indian films such as Pather Panchali (1955) directed by Satyajit Ray, Western films not released in theaters, and films from various countries that hadn’t been shown in Japan until then. The number of films screened reached 274 from 66 countries and regions. At Iwanami Hall, in addition to achieving success releasing auteur-focused films such as "Conversation Piece" (1974) and "The Travelling Players" (1975) through distribution by France Eigasha and Toho Towa, "The Soong Sisters" (1997) and "The Whales of August" (1987) became 31-week long-running hits.

In the 1970s, the movement aiming for the polar opposite of huge movie theaters predicated on mass turnout had a strong social movement aspect that was linked to the desire of film lovers to pursue art and the political will to oppose commercialism. However, in the 1980s, the emphasis shifted to business performance and many mini-theaters opened primarily in large cities in an attempt to expand movie audiences that had until then been limited.

In 1981, Cinema Square Tokyu (1981-2014) opened in Shinjuku. It handpicked and screened distinctive films of the kind that had previously been passed over for release, and succeeded in catching the attention not only of fans of individual films, but also of audiences that appreciated the movie theater itself for putting together the programs. It also grabbed interest for establishing high-priced seats and instilling a policy of complete audience changeover, no watching while standing, no entry after films start, and no bringing in food. Following this success, various entertainment companies got on the mini-theater bandwagon and movie theaters were created such as Euro Space (since 1982), Cine Vivant Roppongi (1983-1999), Cine Saison Shibuya (1985-2011), Cinema Rise Shibuya (1986-2016), Chanter Cine (since 1987), and LE CINÉMA (since 1989). Above all, the type of audiences going to mini-theaters grew beyond people looking for auteur-focused films because of films like "Maurice"(1986), "Wings of Desire" (1988), and "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" (1989) that targeted women and young audiences.

Also, the expansion of rental videos led to an increase in small distribution companies and many unique films began being supplied. mini-theaters reached their zenith in the 1990s. Like Cinema Rise Shibuya, it can be said that one of the characteristics of theaters in this period is that they served as places to disseminate information. Films such as "The Lovers on the Bridge" (1991), "Trainspotting"(1996), and "Amélie"(2001) were strongly associated with fashion and music, and drove the culture of the younger generation.

Regional differences in movie theaters

From 2010 when the wave of digitalization reached films, mini-theaters faced adopting digital screening equipment and a lack of successors, and one after another movie theaters unavoidably closed down. Cases of movie theaters having to shut their doors for good continued. Many of them were existing entertainment facilities in regional cities that had once been run either directly or in affiliation with major film production/distribution companies. In contrast, in the ten years leading up to 2021, there was an increase of 42 cinema complexes totaling 466 screens. On the other hand, mini-theaters, including revival houses, increased by five facilities with 30 screens. Examples include Cinema Neko (2021) in Ome, Tokyo, Ebisu Cinema (2021) in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, and Shimane Cinema Onozawa in Masuda, Shimane Prefecture.

Given these circumstances, the significance of mini-theaters as venues securing the diversity of films in these regions is becoming more and more important. Compared to other countries, the population per screen in 2020 was 34,241 people per screen in Japan, 17,190 in South Korea, 10,629 in France, and 9,013 in America. In Japan, many people gather for one screen. Excluding major cities, accessibility to movie theaters is the lowest compared to other countries, as stated above. While cinema complexes offer a concentration of screens for a few hit films, there is a growing trend to funnel a high volume of smaller films that have difficulty garnering box office earnings to mini-theaters. This is the reason the operation of mini-theaters is strained, but it has quite a significant role in connecting people equally to film and creating cultural infrastructure within regional communities.

Mini-theaters build the next generation

The pandemic considerably reduced the number of audience members and box-office revenue at movie theaters. Although seniors who had been the core audience members at mini-theaters to date have yet to return to movie theaters, there are endeavors being carried out targeting young audiences. The program titled, “Introduction to Modern Art Houses: 7 nights of neo classics” that was conducted from January to February 2021 screened classic films for seven consecutive nights that today would be difficult to screen individually. These included "The Spirit of the Beehive" by Director Víctor Erice, "Freeze Die Come to Life" by Director Vitali Kanevsky, and "Alpine Fire" by Director Fredi M. Murer. Various young film directors and scriptwriters talked about films they chose themselves. For them, mini-theaters are spaces that create encounters for audiences with themselves and their films, and are “opportunities for growth.” Today, it’s extremely rare for a filmmaker’s debut work to be screened at a cinema complex. Most young film directors release an independent film at small theaters or film festivals, and by garnering attention gain bigger production budgets.

What’s worthy of attention is that this program was held simultaneously at 18 mini-theaters throughout Japan. The talks conducted with directors and scriptwriters after the screenings were held online and connected each venue so questions were accepted from anywhere. While each venue maintains the individuality of mini-theaters, which were created to set themselves apart, they came together to explore the appeal movie theaters have as “opportunities.” This could be called a ground-breaking endeavor. Movie theaters are also spaces where experiences intersect. The impact each film had in the past on the film directors who joined in the talks is presented to the young audiences as a rediscovery, or in other words, the significance the film’s existence has today. The memories of the films they watched in mini-theaters overlap with the memories of others, collide, and are passed on. The movie theaters are themselves places of diversity and where culture is conveyed. At the same time, through the act of watching films, they possess the educational function of a throughline linking the past, present, and future. A system is required that bolsters film culture in the future in a sustainable manner. Now more than ever, there is a need for earnest discussion on how to provide public support to movie theaters and mini-theaters in particular.

JFF+ INDEPENDENT CINEMA

https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/independent-cinema/
Organizer: The Japan Foundation (JF)
In cooperation with: Japan Community Cinema Center
Period: December 15, 2022–June 15, 2023 (6 months)
Streaming areas: Worldwide, excluding Japan (some films not streamed in certain areas)
Fee: Free (user registration is required to watch)
Languages: English, Spanish (some films have Japanese subtitles)