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Gift, new film by 'Drive My Car' director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, to world premiere at FFG with Eiko Ishibashi performing a live score
On 18 October 2023, Film Fest Gent and Arts Centre VIERNULVIER will welcome renowned Japanese musician and composer Eiko Ishibashi. She is set to perform her music to Gift, a new feature film by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, whose previous film Drive My Car won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. This new collaboration was developed in conjunction with Hamaguchi’s new feature film Evil Does Not Exist, which takes a different approach to the same footage and scenario. Evil Does Not Exist will have its premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.
Gift will be screened and performed in the VIDEODROOM programme, the annual dream date between Film Fest Gent and Arts Centre VIERNULVIER. The programme is a quirky marriage between music and cinema, and features an eclectic melting pot of audio-visual performances.
© 2023 NEOPA / FictiveGift
Written and directed by Oscar nominee Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Gift is set in Mizubiki Village in Nagano, a town located on a plateau rich in nature not so far from Tokyo. The number of immigrants is on the rise, with very gradual development. Takumi and his daughter Hana, who have lived there for generations, lead a modest life, following the cycle of nature. One day, a plan is hatched to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house: an entertainment agency, which has fallen into financial difficulties due to the COVID disaster, has obtained a government subsidy and plans to set up a glamping site. However, the discovery that they intend to discharge sewage into the village water source causes unrest in the village, and the aftermath affects Takumi’s life as well.
Production: NEOPA Inc. x Fictive LLC
The screening of the film will be accompanied by a live music performance by Eiko Ishibashi
Tickets are now for sale on viernulvier.gent.
© Seiji ShibuyaEiko Ishibashi
Eiko Ishibashi is a musical phenomenon who has been fusing styles and genres for over a decade now, from chamber pop and musique concrète to jazz improv, prog and noise. She has collaborated with international artists such as Jim O’Rourke, Keiji Haino, Charlemagne Palestine, Merzbow, Giovanni Di Domenico, Phew, and many others. In 2016, she made her debut as a film composer with the score for Albino’s Tree, before going on to write the music for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning film Drive My Car in 2021. Ishibashi’s captivating score earned rave reviews and won her the Discovery of the Year Award at the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent.
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, an alumnus of the Graduate School of Film and New Media at the Tokyo University of Arts, started to garner international recognition with his 2008 graduate film Passion at film festivals both in Japan and abroad. His feature film Happy Hour (2015) was honoured with multiple awards at international festivals. His film Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021) won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale. Drive My Car (2021) also received widespread recognition, including the award for Best Screenplay at the 74th Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
World Soundtrack Awards 2023
Alongside composers Nicola Piovani and Laurence Rosenthal, Eiko Ishibashi is one of the prominent guests at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards, Film Fest Gent’s prestigious film music awards that close the festival. At last year’s ceremony, Eiko Ishibashi won the Discovery of the Year Award. During the 23rd edition of the WSA on 21 October, a selection of her work will be performed live by Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé.
