ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Film Club: Funeral Parade of Roses directed by Toshio Matsumoto

Date
Wednesday 4 September 2024
Time
6.30pm (BST)
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Booking Details
Online meeting on Zoom
Please register for the meeting in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive a automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).

Free for members of The Japan Society

Please remember to watch the film in advance.
Funeral Parade of Roses is also available to rent and buy online on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

Please help us to keep this event free and open to all! The activities of The Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!

Part of our series of events on LGTBQIA+ communities in Japan, for our film club in September we invite you to watch and discuss Funeral Parade of Roses, an experimental classic of queer cinema.

Written and directed by Toshio Matsumoto, Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列, Bara no Sōretsu, 1969) is set in the underground gay culture of 1960s Tokyo. The story follows Eddie, a transgender hostess and drag queen that becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Gonda, a bar owner, and Leda, his jealous mistress. The film uses fragmented, non-linear storytelling, incorporating documentary style footage to explore themes of identity, sexuality and societal alienation. This non-traditional style challenged classic narrative forms and is reflective of the cultural upheaval of the time. Funeral Parade of Roses became a landmark of Japanese New Wave and queer cinema.

Toshio Matsumoto (1932-2017) was a Japanese film director, video artist and film theorist known for his avant-garde approach to cinema and his experimental filmmaking. Born in Nagoya, he studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, focusing on painting and art theory. Matsumoto began his film career as documentary filmmaker in the 1950s, producing radical and provocative short and feature films while simultaneously theorizing the documentary form through his critical writing. In the 1960s and 1970s, he wrotes influential essays and directed experimental films and video pieces such as Funeral Parade of Roses, Demons (aka Pandemonium, 1971). Matsumoto’s films often employed montage, nonlinear storytelling, and surreal elements to explore non-conventional visual styles, reflecting his background in art theory and dedication to pushing cinematic boundaries.

Do you love Japanese film classics, anime or contemporary cinema stories? Do you miss Japan and want to see it at least on screen? Would you like to learn and discuss about Japanese culture and society? The Japan Society Film Club is an online space to chat about films and Japan in an informal atmosphere. It take place on the first Wednesday of the month. We recommend a film to watch in advance and meet online to discuss. Films are often available online for free, to rent or with subscription, on DVD/Blu Ray or on BFI player. The event is open to all and we encourage participants to freely express their opinions and feelings about the films.

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.