VIFF 2024: GIFT: A Film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi X Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi
Japan | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | No Language | 74 minutes
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Eiko Ishibashi, who scored director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning film Drive My Car (VIFF 2021) presents the Canadian Premiere of GIFT—a new silent film directed by Hamaguchi, and accompanied by a dynamic, live soundtrack performed by Ishibashi. Developed in collaboration with Hamaguchi’s latest feature film, Evil Does Not Exist (VIFF 2023), GIFT has been hailed as its “concentrated, wordless flipside” (Lincoln Center). Using visual source material drawn from Evil Does Not Exist, Ishibashi’s live performance adds a dynamic layer to the cinematic experience of GIFT, by offering a vital recomposition of the relationship of sound to narrative, and composer to filmmaker.
Ishibashi’s newest body of work started when she asked Hamaguchi to make a video for a live performance. This live performance video became GIFT, which had its visual material provided from the film. Her score harmonizes effortlessly with the state of nature as depicted in Hamaguchi’s feature, a nuanced tale of humans’ uneasy efforts to maintain co-existence with the delicate state of the planet.
Eiko Ishibashi’s work has ranged from acclaimed singer-songwriter albums to scores for film, television, theatre, and exhibitions to improvised music. She has collaborated with international artists such as Jim O’Rourke, Keiji Haino, Merzbow, and many others. Among her film scores are Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning 2021 film, Drive My Car and his 2023 feature Evil Does Not Exist.
“Hamaguchi and composer Ishibashi Eiko reimagine the director’s cut with GIFT, a daring new version of Evil Does Not Exist that stands to reinvigorate cinema through its use of live music.” (Indiewire, 2024)
“Her score for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s opus helped it to Oscar glory. Now the Japanese musician has reunited with its director for a collaboration unlike any other.” (The Guardian, 2024)
Tuesday, October 1
7:00 pm
Advance tickets HERE
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VIFF thanks the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for their continued stewardship of the unceded and occupied land on which our work takes place. As an organization founded and predominantly directed by settlers and immigrants, we understand our responsibility to seek out and build authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, and to allow this ongoing dialogue to influence our practices. As part of this process, we remain committed to collaborating with and supporting Indigenous artists, filmmakers, curators, and audiences.
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