CWC Global: The Art of the Benshi
Community
Film/Movie
Pollock Theater
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Sat, Feb 28 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Address (map)
Pollock Theater University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4010
Venue (website)
Pollock Theater
The Art of the Benshi offers audiences the opportunity to experience the mesmerizing artistry of Ichiro Kataoka, one of Japan’s most celebrated benshi, or “movie orators.”
At the peak of the benshi tradition in the 1910s and 1920s, over 7000 benshi were employed in Japan to introduce silent films and provide narration.
The Carsey-Wolf Center is pleased to offer contemporary audiences a rare chance to experience this unique art form.
Joined by Makia Matsumura on piano, Kataoka will perform a program featuring the legendary avant-garde film A Page of Madness, released a century ago this year, alongside Laurel and Hardy’s Liberty (1929) and the quirky Japanese animated short Half a Snake (1930).
Kataoka’s narration will be in Japanese, subtitled in English on screen.
Benshi Ichiro Kataoka will join moderator Naoki Yamamoto (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion.
