Tower of the sun
Kosai Sekine
ABOUT
Half a century after the Osaka Expo, Taro Okamoto's Tower of the Sun is still a symbol of Osaka and continues to fascinate people. This is the first and last documentary film about the Tower of the Sun. What exactly is the Tower of the Sun?
In 1970, Japan was in the midst of a period of rapid economic growth, and the Osaka Expo was held under the theme of "the progress and harmony of mankind. The Tower of the Sun, created by the avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto, stood out from the crowd. Why is it that the Tower of the Sun still fascinates people today? Why did only the Tower of the Sun survive? We will try to answer these questions.
A total of 29 people were interviewed, including not only those involved in the creation of the Tower of the Sun at the time of the Expo, but also experts on Taro Okamoto, scholars and critics in various fields, and contemporary artists and artists of expression. The film consists mainly of interviews with the interviewees, but it also explores the roots of Taro Okamoto and the theme of "Myth of Tomorrow," which was created at the same time, to highlight the message from the Tower of the Sun. Through the Tower of the Sun, Taro Okamoto continues to provoke humanity.
Basic information of the work
- Screening time
- 112 minuets
- Language
- Japanese
- Fee
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1,800 yen (tax included) / month 30,000 yen (tax included) / year * Other benefits are available
- Delivery deadline
- There is no plan to end the distribution.
- Genre
- Art Documentary Film
Accessibility of this work
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Audio guide
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Sign language
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Barrier-free subtitles
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Subtitles
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Multilingual
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Dubbing
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Artist’s original barrier-free version
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Non-verbal
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Friendly cinema screenings
About Accessibility
Accessibility of this work
We have two barrier-free videos available for your viewing pleasure. Please switch between the tabs to view them.
Barrier-free Japanese subtitles + audio guide: Subtitles with text of main sound information such as music and sound effects in addition to the spoken words and speaker’s name, and audio narration of visual information such as scenes and movements of people for people who are blind or have difficulty seeing.
Barrier-free Japanese subtitles: Subtitles that include the spoken words and the name of the speaker, as well as music, sound effects, and other main sound information in written form.
Artist Profile
Kosai Sekine
Filmmaker and film director. With his cross-cultural storytelling and contemplative visual style, he has directed and produced a wide range of video works in a variety of genres, including feature films, short films, commercials, music videos, and art installation works.
He was born in Tokyo to parents who were both plastic artists. During a short study abroad program in the U.S. while enrolled in the Philosophy Department at Sophia University, he became interested in photography and decided to pursue filmmaking. After graduation, she began working as a production assistant at an advertising video production company in 2000.
In 2005, he released his first short film, RIGHT PLACE, which won the Best Foreign Film Award at the New York Short Film Festival, among other awards. The following year, together with a trailer he directed for the Raindance Film Festival in the UK, he won the top prize in three categories, including the Grand Prix, at the Cannes Advertising Festival’s Young Director’s Awards, and was ranked number one in the world for new directors by the British magazine SHOTS.
After going independent in 2008, he directed many short films, commercials, and music videos both in Japan and abroad, gaining international recognition, and joined Stink, a video production company based in several cities around the world. His work on Honda’s Ayrton Senna 1989 won the Grand Prix in the Titanium category at the Cannes Advertising Festival in 2014, making it the world’s most awarded advertising film of the same year.
In 2018, he directed and wrote his first feature film, “Just for Being Alive, Love. (based on a novel by Yukiko Motoya) was released. The film, which depicts the struggles experienced by a woman with hypersomnia, won the Kaneto Shindo Silver Prize for New Directors and the Jury Prize at the Kinotayo Film Festival in France. This film, “Tower of the Sun,” was also released in theaters.
He is currently directing a variety of videos, including feature films, while also continuing his creative work with the social art production group “NOddIN,” releasing works on themes such as nuclear power, anti-war, and refugee issues. He is the co-founder of the video production company NION.
credit
Director: Sekine Kosai
Photography: Ueno Senzo
Lighting: Masachio Nishida
Recording: Shimizu Temujin
Editing: Yoshitaka Honda
Main Editing: Hitoshi Kimura
Sound Effects: Koji Kasamatsu
Music：JEMAPUR
Film release date: September 29, 2018
Production: Tower of the Sun Film Partners (PARCO, Spoon, Taro Okamoto Memorial Foundation for the Promotion of Contemporary Art, NHK Educational)
Planning: PARCO
Production: Spoon
Supported by: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Arts Council (Support Program for Film Creation Activities)