The Powell Street Festival Society and Blim present
in partnership with VIVO Arts Media Centre
Cute to Kill III, Curated by Yuriko Iga & Daniel Giantomaso
Sunday, October 28th, 2012
VIVO Media Arts Centre
1965 Main Street, Vancouver
7:30pm door, screening at 8:00pm
Entry $12.00 advance and for PSFS members/ students/ seniors
or $15.00 at the door
*Advance tickets can be purchased at Blim:
115 East Pender Street, Vancouver
The Powell Street Festival Society and BLIM are pleased to present in partnership with VIVO Arts Media Centre the third edition of Cute to Kill, an exposé of recent video works from local, national, and international animators and video artists. This series of short films explore the artists’ morbid fascination with dark subject matter through the guise of “cute”—a prevalent juxtaposition in contemporary Asian pop culture.
Blim’s Yuriko Iga and Vancouver-based artist Daniel Giantomaso co-curate Cute to Kill III, a wide range of adorably despondent short films to be viewed as a collection for this one night only. Featuring short animations by international Japanese artists Hoji Tsuchiya, Saori Shiroki, Atsushi Wada, Shin Hashimoto, and local artist Kiyoshi Kohatsu, the evening will also include a live music performance by local artist Takashi Masahiro, and a special presentation of the cult classic Ringing Bell (1978) by Masami Hata.
As part of the short animation line-up, we present three works by Hoji Tsuchiya: Monkey Dreams (2006), Night Park (2005) and Tashou Kougou (2008)—displaying the artist’s eclectic use of methods and materials such as paper cutouts, shadow puppets, banana peels, and photocopiers. On the other end of the spectrum, Silver Night of the Light (2005) by self-taught animator Saori Shiroki is a melancholic painterly animation. Local artist Kiyoshi Kohatsu’s film features a story of a voodoo doll and the owner’s misfortunes. Atsushi Wada’s award-winning animation The Great Rabbit (2012) (Silver Bear award at Berlin Film Festival) displays the worshipping of a ‘great rabbit,’ examining the theme of disobedience. Capping off the screening of shorts is Shin Hashimoto’s work Beluga (2011), a surrealist display of fantasy and violence, which has been selected for screenings at various European film festivals.
In addition to the shorts and a musical performance by electronic pop glitch musician Takashi Masahiro, the evening will feature a special presentation of the cult classic animation Ringing Bell by Masami Hata. Produced by Sanrio, the Japanese company best known for its manufacturing of iconic Hello Kitty products, Ringing Bell evolves from a cute children’s story about an adorable lamb into a dark film of vengeance.
