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 nurtured the diversity of Japanese cinema culture. The free program aimed at overseas audiences is streaming Japanese films selected by managers of mini-theaters.

Michinari Ueno is the manager of Takada Sekaikan, a movie theater in the city of Joetsu in Niigata Prefecture. He selected the two films, "Dryads in a Snow Valley" (2016) directed by Shigeru Kobayashi and "Shiver" (2021) directed by Toshiaki Toyoda. They are diametrically opposed films, but both capture the beautiful climate of Niigata.

We visited Takada Sekaikan where the manager, Michinari Ueno works and heard about the history of the movie theater and Japanese film today.

Text: Rie Tsukinaga Photo: Masahiro Nishimura Editing: The Japan Foundation

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Takada Sekaikan, known as one of the oldest movie theaters in Japan, is located in the town of Takada, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, where a retro townscape still remains. Opened in 1911, Takada Sekaikan marked its 111th anniversary in 2022. It is a cultural heritage that has both been designated a registered tangible cultural property of Japan and registered a Heritage of Industrial Modernization. The movie theater is located on Takada Gangi-dori where merchants’ homes have lined the street since the Edo period. The movie theater is still operating even today, but it is a valuable building where visitors can fully experience the pseudo-Western architecture of the Meiji period, and as such it receives ardent attention not only from film fans, but also from tourists and fans of architecture. When we traveled there for this article, the movie theater was being visited by young female tourists and local students touring it with their teachers. The manager, Michinari Ueno was busily at work speaking to the high school students like a tour guide and telling them about the movie theater’s history. When he found time between his duties taking care of visitors, he got ready to screen films.

Ueno In between film screenings, this entire movie theater is open to tours, including the first and second floors, plus the projection room, and people come in a steady stream for tours. Lately, tours of this place are being included in the itineraries of tours from other prefectures. When that happens, we reduce the number of screenings to handle the tours. The tour fees somewhat cover the reduction in screening revenues. You could also say that the circumstances behind reviving this place have always stemmed from efforts to preserve this historical building, but there isn’t another movie theater like this one, I guess.

Ueno is from Takada and his parents’ home is a short walk from Takada Sekaikan. However, he didn’t come to the movie theater as a child.

Ueno I often played around here when I was a child, but Sekaikan back then was an adult movie theater, so of course I never went inside or even really was aware that it was that kind of place. Sekaikan has always had a name and management that changed with the times.

It was established as the playhouse, Takadaza in 1911 and became the movie theater, Sekaikan in 1916. Later, the theater screened films from Toho, Shochiku, and Daiei. In 1975, the signboard was changed to Takada Nikkatsu and it became an adult theater. Though the name, Takada Nikkatsu stayed the same, rental video shops were already popping up in the neighborhood from 2000, and I think the business was in a pretty precarious situation.

It was changed from an adult theater and reborn as Takada Sekaikan in 2009. The management organization switched to the Machinaka Movie Theater Revitalization Committee (NPO), and efforts began to run the movie theater as a civic endeavor while carrying out repairs and preservation on this historical movie theater. At first, it was lent out on an irregular basis for independent screenings and used as a place to hold events, but in 2014 when I became manager the direction was shifted to being a movie theater that regularly shows films.

Ueno studied film criticism at university in Yokohama and was fully enjoying life as a cinephile, including doing research on Edward Yang in graduate school. After that, he returned to his hometown, but what did he do before he started working as manager of this historical movie theater?

Ueno I’d always liked films just like everyone else, but started enthusiastically going to see films after going to university. I was influenced by a teacher who taught a film class and started going often to various mini-theaters in Tokyo. When I went to graduate school, there were a few opportunities to study architecture and community development / town development while focusing my studies on film. My interest turned to carrying out some kind of community-development activities in my hometown.

That was just about the time I found out that Takada Sekaikan was being used as a rental venue. I thought that seemed interesting, so I sometimes returned home, began screening films, and became close with people in the NPO. Then, in 2014 when I graduated from graduate school, I learned this place was looking for a manager. I was interested and began working here. I hadn’t always thought to return to my hometown. It was a pretty casual decision because it seemed like I could do something exciting.

Currently, Ueno is the only permanent employee. Together with several part-time staff, he does everything from receiving visitors to film projection and taking care of tourists.

Ueno In the beginning, I just didn’t know anything. I studied film criticism at university, but had never worked at a movie theater. My only experience was screening films on occasion. Even though I was working as the manager, there wasn’t a single film distribution client and no decisions had been made about how to operate. At first, we tried this and that to keep working things out, screening just one film a day or an ongoing series of special screenings. As we continued with that, little by little the number of distribution companies lending us films increased, and a year later we had somehow created a format of regular screenings. It was around that time that a regular moviegoer told me, “These days, it’s finally become like a real movie theater.”

Today, the movie theater is closed on Tuesdays. On all other days, the basic schedule is three to five films shown on a screen. Recently screened films include several foreign films of the type shown in mini-theaters, and it seems that over half of the films shown are Japanese documentaries.

Ueno The number of documentary films has particularly increased a lot since the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, we could usually tell which regular moviegoers would come, depending on the film. For instance, the film we’re currently showing, "Madras" (2014) brings in fans of Indian films, while moviegoers who like good quality Western films would probably come to see "Beanpole" (2019). We could judge to a degree the kind of audiences that come. But, attendance overall has dropped because of the pandemic, and it’s become difficult to keep things going with only regular audiences. So, as we were thinking we should bring in something fresh to attract new people, it feels as if documentary films have necessarily increased.

When it comes to documentaries, audiences aren’t limited to film fans. People come because they’re drawn to the film’s theme, so we can expand our audiences to new people. If it’s a film on food, then people interested in food come. If it’s a film showing life in a particular rural region, then people interested in community vitalization and regional living come. Recently, the audience that we particularly see is parents. Young people very concerned about environmental issues and interested in new lifestyles are pretty active. When a film is being screened that they have an interest in, they’re sure to check the information and come see it.

We’re showing a documentary now that followed a certain nursery school for a year, "Kodomo Kaigi" (Children’s Meeting, 2022). This film can reach people raising children, as well as gain the interest of people in education. Showing documentary films with various themes should create new audiences. That’s the current hope.

Since 2020, the impact of the spread of COVID-19 has greatly harmed movie theaters throughout the country, including causing temporary shut downs and a decline in older audiences. On the other hand, the inventiveness born out of the pandemic has also established a new screening style.

Ueno The pandemic resulted in fewer opportunities for directors to visit movie theaters, but in place of that online talk shows held remotely using Zoom and other apps have been energized. I’ve found these activities give movie theaters new value. Before, inviting directors to regional movie theaters was quite an undertaking for both sides. But, we can ask the directors more readily when it’s carried out remotely.

Right now, especially in the case of documentaries, as much as possible we pair screenings with a talk show done remotely. We hold one once a month on average, and hold them every other week when we have a lot. Sometimes a director will talk about his or her own work, and sometimes we ask an expert to talk about a film’s theme. I’d like to keep putting together creative programs. I hope to make opportunities not only to screen films, but also to gain somewhat of a greater understanding of society through films, similar to a cultural center.

The two films selected by Ueno for JFF+ INDEPENDENT CINEMA, "Dryads in a Snow Valley" and "Shiver", are also documentary films.

Ueno We previously screened these two films at our theater and they got really good responses. Both were filmed in Niigata, so people directly involved with them came and it was easy to track the reactions to them.

"Dryads in a Snow Valley" was a film that really attracted people of various ages. People who have long lived in this neighborhood and people who just moved here seemed to enjoy coming to watch. That kind of reaction makes me the happiest. I don’t want to make this into a place that older people avoid, thinking that we only show films they don’t really understand. I always want to show films that my own mother and grandmother would also enjoy.

Ordinarily, what kind of film is popular at Takada Sekaikan?

Ueno Lately, Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s "Drive My Car" (2021) was predictably very popular. We screened it only for two weeks, but even on weekdays around 90 people came, which surprised me. Other films that were hits for a long time include "Life is Fruity" (2016) and "In This Corner of the World" (2016). I remember that "A Little Girl’s Dream" (2014) also had quite a long run.

As a second-run theater, Takada Sekaikan also often screens major films that were shown at cinema complexes. What does Ueno think is the ideal concept of a mini-theater?

Ueno As for me, I don’t really feel like I’m running a mini-theater. The mini-theater is a culture that was created in a certain time period. Really, it’s urban culture, isn’t it? If you think of it like that, Takada Sekaikan is probably closer to a community cinema than a mini-theater. For me, I feel that my desire to enrich the community of Takada through the movie theater is greater than wanting to make it into a particular kind of movie theater.

The primary principle of the NPO is to preserve this historical building, and I think continuing to screen films is the most important thing for a movie theater. It wouldn’t be right to just show highly artistic films because I like them and then be unable to maintain the movie theater. On the other hand, if we show very popular films and gain popularity, at some point there will be an opportunity to screen art films, too.

Come to think of it, when "Every Day A Good Day" (2015) by Director Tatsushi Omori had a long run, I tried showing a film for the night screening from a totally different genre, Director William Friedkin’s "Sorcerer" (1977). It was just to have a little fun. I can have that kind of fun because the movie theater continues to do well. First, I want to keep this movie theater on solid ground. Within that, as much as possible I want to show some diversity. I think that’s probably what it means to safeguard movie screens.

Listening to Ueno talk, it is very clear that his stories about the movie theater naturally are about the state of the neighborhood. Perhaps for Ueno, running Takada Sekaikan and energizing the local community are activities with the same significance.

Ueno The ideal would be to both run the movie theater and do community development activities. I think it’d be great if Takada Sekaikan became one of the neighborhood places central to the community. It’s very difficult for people who have newly moved here to settle into the existing neighborhood, but with a movie theater, maybe they can easily decide to go see films. As they do that, it’d be nice if those newcomers who come here gradually become integrated into our neighborhood.

I’ve been focused on showing films at the movie theater recently, but before I planned various events at places other than Sekaikan. I held screening parties for 8mm films showing the Takada scenery at a vacant house on the street where the morning market is held. I hope to continue trying things to enliven the neighborhood through film.

Finally, what do you think makes the neighborhood of Takada so wonderful?

Ueno In spring, Takada Park is a well-known tourist spot for the cherry blossoms that bloom there. Joetsu where the Takada District is located is also famous for being associated with Kenshin Uesugi, a military commander in the Warring States period. But, I like the quieter places in Takada best that are different from those tourist spots. When you walk through the neighborhood, you can see the evidence of people’s hard work here and there. Plus, there are sites where merchants’ homes that have existed since the Edo period still stand in this area, and there is pseudo-Western architecture from the Meiji period like Takada Sekaikan. I hope visitors enjoy the layers of the Edo and Meiji periods. The neighborhood isn’t too much of a tourist site and has just the right amount of historical atmosphere. In winter, the snowscape is also beautiful. I think the neighborhood is perfect for a leisurely stay.

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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)

Films recommended by Takada Sekaikan (Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture)
"Dryads in a Snow Valley" (2016) directed by Shigeru Kobayashi [Streaming: December 15, 2022–March 15, 2023]
"Shiver" (2021) directed by Toshiaki Toyoda [Streaming: March 15–June 15, 2023]