Cinema East Film Series continues Jan. 14 with 'A Story From Chikamatsu'

The next film in the Cinema East series is "A Story From Chikamatsu," which screens at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay Street).

Also known as "The Crucified Lovers," "A Story From Chikamatsu" continues Mizoguchi Kenji’s exploration of Japanese literary and theatrical traditions. A bunraku puppet play provides the basis for a story about a misunderstanding that puts two people in the crosshairs of a rigid and judgmental social structure. 

Series curator and librarian from Western Washington University Jeff Purdue describes the film as “A powerful critique and profound emotional experience,” adding, “A Story From Chikamatsu is a film of great visual beauty that will stay with you for a long time to come.”

Co-sponsored by Western Libraries and the Pickford Film Center, each film in the Cinema East series, (formerly known as the Masters of Asian Cinema series), begins with an introduction from select speakers including local professors, artists, and educators.  A Story From Chikamatsu will be introduced by Eren Odabasi, Assistant Professor of Global Cinema in the Department of English at Western Washington University. 

Eren Odabasi’s research and teaching interests include media policy and governance, diasporic filmmakers and audiences, and auteur theory.  He has presented and published several articles on film festivals and transnational film production. As a film critic, he has been writing extensively for the Turkish monthly film magazine Altyazi since 2008. In recognition of his work in film criticism, he was invited to the Talents Program of the Berlin International Film Festival twice and served as a jury member in the Semaine de la Critique section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.

For more information about this film event, please see the following link:  https://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/a-story-from-chikamatsu-cinema-east/ or contact Jeff.Purdue@wwu.edu .