Overview

A fascinating stage production that brings "stage" and "film" together in real time has finally landed in Japan!
90-minute miracle in which the dance of fingertips leads to reminiscence of love.

Belgian film prodigy Jaco Van Dormael, the director of "Brand New Testament", "Toto le héros" and " Le huitième jour," and "Mr. Nobody" which was released in Japan in 2016 and became an instant hit. The choreographer Michèle Anne De Mey has been the flagship member of the leading Belgian dance company Rosas, and has been well received for her choreography. Since the world premiere of "KISS & CRY" in 2011, this innovative project by the two geniuses and spirited artists has captivated film and performing arts fans around the world with its unconventional approach and perfection in creating both "stage" and "film" at the same time.

Michèle Anne De Mey: "I wonder if you can dance at your fingertips?
Jaco Van Dormael: "Can we do a feature film on the kitchen table?
Michèle Anne & Jaco: "Let's show the audience everything!

A playwright, Thomas Gunzig, who also wrote the screenplay for "Brand New Testament," spells out the dialogue, which is sublimated into a narration that sounds like a pleasant music, and he and Dormael have created a dreamlike story that traverses reality, fantasy, gravity and scale freely, which is possible because it is a "stage" film.
A miniature station building and a train with attention to detail, the stage is covered with camera equipment and film crews just like a film set. With a huge screen overlooking the stage behind them, the lead performers, "memories", are transformed into performers' "hands" as they wait for the signal to open. As you sit in the audience, you are witnessing the moment when "stage" and "film" are born in the "here and now".

On the screen are images of a woman's fragmented memories of love.
A vague and unforgettable first love that passed while waiting for the train.
At one night, a circus tent, the window of a car passing by at breakneck speed.
A faint and bittersweet encounter and farewell.
Like "Kiss & Cry," a waiting space where one is overwhelmed by the outcome of a figure skating competition, the heartbeat is racing and the fingertips tell the story of life's subtleties.

This 90-minute long live film is the result of a well-calculated, meticulously constructed movement and a top-notch film crew, led by Dormael. The "nano-dance", dancing hands invented by Michèle Anne De Mey, gives us a sense of the invisible protagonist's gaze and presence, and the gentle narration of the film makes an intuitive interpretation stand out. On the other hand, the "stage" is shared only in the "memory" of the audience who visit the theater for a limited time. This is a gem of a spectacle in which conflicting methods are wonderfully fused together, and it will be a time of supremacy only for those who see it.

Starring a Japanese actor with many talents and awards, Lilly Franky will narrate this special performance for the first time in Japan, which is only available for two performances in Kochi.

Credit

〇Japan Premiere Performance
Direction Jaco Van Dormael　
Dance Michèle Anne De Mey, Grégory Grosjean
Camera Julien Lambert
Camera Assistance Aurélie Leporcq　
Lighting Nicolas Olivier
Stage technicians Stefano Serra, Boris Cekevda, Ivan Fox
Sound Boris Cekevda　
Technical coordinator Thomas Dobruszkès (Astragale asbl)　
Production & sales Hélène Dubois (Astragale asbl)
Tour Management Meryl Moens (Module)
Distribution Meno Plukker Agency

Narrator Lily Franky (Japanese)
Japanese Translation Shoko Kashiwagi

Post Talk Moderator Kenichi Okubo (Film Critic)

〇Staff (Japan Premiere)
Stage Manager So Ozaki
Video Coordination Kotaro Konishi (adanda)
Sound Coordination Hisashi Morita (P.A.F)
Lighting Coordination Masaki Yasuoka
Wardrobe Yuka Becchaku
Nai Care Rika Hisakawa (Ryoma Gaguin International Design Beauty Collage), Nozomi Maeno (Nail Mode)
Voice recording Engineer Hiroshi Murakami (ACTIVE CINE CLUB)
Publicity Design Naoya Takemura (Takemura Design & Planning)
Publicity Videography Ken Hirata
Technical Interpreter Miwa Monden
Interview Interpreter Patrick Du Vos (Tokyo University)
Stage Technicians Yasuhiro Katada, Yuko Katada, Chiaki Nitta, Katsuaki Hamada (Call ltd.)
Production Coodination Chizuru Matsumoto, Shingo Hamada, Hisako Yamaura, Yumi Yamawaki, Naho Jinzenji (The Museum of Art, Kochi)
Production Intern Ikumi Kuramoto (Kochi University)

〇Creative Team <World Premiere 2011 March, Mons - Belgium>
Original idea Michèle Anne De Mey & Jaco Van Dormael
In collective creation with Grégory Grosjean, Thomas Gunzig, Julien Lambert, Sylvie Olivé, Nicolas Olivier
Choreography and NanoDanses Michèle Anne De Mey, Grégory Grosjean
Directed by Jaco Van Dormael
Texts Thomas Gunzig
Script Thomas Gunzig, Jaco Van Dormael
Lighting Nicolas Olivier
Camera Julien Lambert
Focus puller Aurélie Leporcq
Set designer Sylvie Olivé, assisted by Amalgame - Elisabeth Houtart & Michel Vinck
Director's assistants Benoît Joveneau, Caroline Hacq
Sound design Dominique Warnier
Sound Boris Cekevda
Manipulations and performance Bruno Olivier, Gabriella Iacono, Pierrot Garnier
Construction and props Walter Gonzales, Amalgame - Elisabeth Houtart & Michel Vinck
Second set design Anne Masset, Vanina Bogaert, Sophie Ferro
Stage manager Nicolas Olivier
Creative technicians Gilles Brulard, Pierrot Garnier, Bruno Olivier
Music George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Arvo Pärt, Michael Koenig Gottfried, John Cage, Carlos Paredes, PiotrIlitch Tchaïkovski, Jacques Prévert, Ligeti, Henryk Gorecki,
George Gershwin
Narrators Jaco Van Dormael (French) / Valentijn Dhaenens (Dutch) / Yvan Fox Hernandez (Spanish) / Toby Regbo (English) / Marcus Himbert (German) / Angelo Bison (Italian) / Yu Jin Tae (Korean), Dimitris Mastoros (Greek)

Photos Maarten Vanden Abeele

Production Astragale asbl Compagnie Michèle Anne De Mey, Charleroi Danses, Centre chorégraphique de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles / le manège.mons, Centre Dramatique
Coproduction Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
With the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation

Related Event : Film Screening of Jaco Van Dormael & Michèle Anne De Mey

Film Screening
To mark this Japanese premiere of "KISS & CRY", two feature films directed by Jaco Van Dormael "Brand New Testament" and "Mr. Nobody," and three dance films choreographed by Michèle Anne De Mey, "Face à face" (1986) "Love Sonnets"(1994) and "21 études à danser"(1991) will be screened for free.

Saturday 5 August 2017
10:00-11:55 "Brand New Testament"
12:10-13:40 "Face à face", "Love Sonnets" and "21 études à danser"
13:55-15:50 "Brand New Testament"
16:05-17:35 "Face à face", "Love Sonnets" and "21 études à danser"
17:50-19:45 "Brand New Testament"

Saturday 19 August 2017
10:00-12:21 "Mr. Nobody"
12:35-14:05 "Face à face", "Love Sonnets" and "21 études à danser"
14:20-16:41 "Mr. Nobody"
16:55-18:25 "Face à face", "Love Sonnets" and "21 études à danser"
18:40-21:01 "Mr. Nobody"