Inspired perhaps by Barack Obama’s "we can change" motto, the world seems to be experiencing a change/reform boom right now. Or rather, once the global mood of hopelessness and stagnation hit rock bottom, it is only natural that people call for change and improvement. Against this backdrop (which may sound a little overblown), a press conference took place to announce the "Festival Tokyo" (below "F/T"), a performing arts festival that is going to be held next year. Attending the conference, I found in the event a strong indication for innovative change.
photo by Shoko Kashima
F/T will be staged at Ikebukuro’s Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space for about one month starting from late February 2009. It will be the first time the festival is held, however it can basically be considered as a modified version of the Tokyo International Arts Festival (TIF) that has been held annually up to the spring of 2008. TIF was launched in 1988, and staged until 2008 while being renamed two times into "Tokyo International Theatre Festival" and "Tokyo International Festival of Performing Arts" respectively. Since the year 2000, it has been operated by the Arts Network Japan (ANJ) non-profit organization, which is also the central managing institution behind F/T. The festival is part of the "Tokyo Culture Creation Project" initiated by the Tokyo metropolitan government together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, and organized with a (consequently) much higher budget than the former TIF.
When I say "indication for change", however, I'm not talking about the festival’s scale or budget. It’s of course necessary to have something to work with in the first place, and considering the more or less volunteer contributions of the past, the situation is going to change significantly thanks to the Tokyo government’s support. The TIF was initially looking for financial aid from a municipality (the Tokyo government), but later received financial support from so-called corporate sponsors, with the exception of the Japan Foundation and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Even though not exactly blessed with ample funds, is has been offering reasonable programs, so the management must have been fighting against many heavy odds. All this is going to change dramatically.
(C) Matsushima Kohei
(C) Matsushima Kohei
What I'd like to point out in particular is the rejuvenation of the pulling forces behind the project, as thirtysomething Soma Chiaki was appointed program director. Soma studied art management in France, and after returning to Japan joined ANJ to get directly involved in the TIF. Especially worth mentioning is her work as a negotiator and producer of the "Alive From Palestine — Stories Under Occupation" performance by the Palestinian Al-Kasaba Theatre at the TIF 2004. That year marked the start of what has been referred to as the "Middle East series" of theatre performances.
I happened to witness an interesting scene related to the project. In April 2003, Palestinian film director Elia Suleiman visited Japan for the premiere of the movie "D.I.", and I was the moderator of a teach-in at the Institut franco-japonais in Iidabashi. "D.I." illustrates the pitiful conditions in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nazareth and other troubled areas with an almost surrealistically strange sense of humor, and once Suleiman had finished his address after the screening, he answered some questions from the audience. The first to raise her hand was Soma Chiaki, who was still in her twenties at the time. She asked a question about the actor who appeared dressed as Santa Claus in one of the first scenes. "Wasn't that George Ibrahim?"
(C) Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Ibrahim is an actor who leads the above-mentioned Al-Kasaba Theatre. Soma had been making efforts to bring "Alive From Palestine" to Tokyo, but be it because of the local situation in the Middle East, she was unable to establish a contact with the company. Then she happened to go and see that Palestinian movie, and wound up seeing that very company director she wanted to meet appear right in front of her on the screen. Suleiman was surprised, and Soma eventually got in touch with Ibrahim, possibly because she got his contact information directly from Suleiman. Be that as it may, less than one year after said teach-in, the Middle Eastern theatre company impressed Far Eastern audiences at their first appearance on a Tokyo stage.
Soma’s greatest forte is her nimble footwork. In the following year she traveled to Israel together with artist Tsubaki Noboru, and requested the Al-Kasaba Theatre to visit Japan again. "The Wall — Stories Under Occupation II "was performed at TIF 2005 with a set designed by Tsubaki. The "Middle East series" continued until 2007, with works by the likes of director Fadhel Jaibi from Tunisia, and Israeli choreographer Yasmeen Goder. It was surely thanks to Soma’s language skills and persistent negotiation that we got to enjoy some outstanding works of performing art.
(C) HG Raffaelli
Ichimura Sachio, the TIF’s executive director for many years and Soma’s boss at ANJ, is reportedly going to commit himself entirely to Soma’s guardianship at the F/T. At the press conference he declared that they "don't have an assembly but a president this time", indicating that all the power will be concentrated in Soma Chiaki. While people in their thirties fulfilling such roles is quite common in the cultural scenes of Western countries these days, in East Asia and other parts of the non-Western world it is still an exceptional case. Supposedly due the short preparation period, the first F/T focuses mainly on Japanese artists, with the likes of I Yun-Thaek and Romeo Castellucci completing an already illustrious lineup including Ninagawa Yukio, Amagatsu Ushio & Sankaijuku, Hirata Oriza, Matsuda Masataka, Takayama Akira, Ameya Norimizu, Ide Shigehiro and Shirai Tsuyoshi. Now if this isn't a list of names that raises expectations toward future installments!
The "president" who managed to secure a decent budget for her project is perhaps in a more comfortable situation than the president of the United States in the midst of the worldwide financial crisis. Everybody around her, including her boss and other individuals involved, surely favor a young director and support Soma as they all must be hungry for change and reform. Nonetheless, it is not guaranteed that everything goes smoothly. Those who provide funds might interfere and try to become deeper involved on other levels, so let’s hope that those officials with little knowledge of the matter stay out of it and mind their own business.
Ozaki Tetsuya / Editor in chief / REALTOKYO