Aaron J. Barefoot

Images for Asia on Screen interviews with Julian Ross and Gary Cheah in connection with Asian Cinema, and how it's received. interviews avaible here www.asia-on-screen.com.

Here is the Julian Ross interivew, which, atm, is not on the site:

Julian Ross - Asia on Screen Interview. 08th May 2009

On his final year at Queen Mary University, London. Julian Ross is a Film Studies student and Independent Cinema enthusiast, soon to be studying a PhD in Film Studies. He was a member of the BFI student group, he also works at Close-Up Video (http://www.close-upvideos.com) A small independent/World cinema library in London’s East End.

Ross is a well informed opinion of Cinema. Having just finished his dissertation on 1930’s Japanese film houses he accepted to do an interview with us on his views on Contemporary Eastern Cinema. He’d been telling me that for his latest project on Chinese Cinema he’d been watching films that had no subtitles, and was having to read the script at the same time in order to understand the story. He also told me that on the back of his dissertation Leeds University we’re asking him to do some lectures on Asian Cinema.

So, I travelled to London to do an interview with him. I was planning to rendezvous with him at the Barbican to visit an exhibition with him, however first I had to meet my friend to get a camera so we could film this and bring you all a lovely video interview. However it didn’t pan out that way. The Camera didn’t want to work, so instead I went to meet him and decided to do this interview.

We met outside Liverpool Street, Julian was fresh from an exhibition at the Barbican, so we walked and talked, then later, Sat outside a pub, just past Old Street in East London, He told me about film nights he puts on in London, namely, Genesis film nights Which show a selection of Films in London’s East End. Having known Julian for a while we took a casual approach to the interview, and after a pint or two I gave him some questions to answer.

Asia On Screen: How do you feel that East Asian Cinema has progressed over the years?

Julian Ross: I feel the main progress has been the increasing international availability of East Asian films through DVDs and festivals. Also information on the films have become readily accessible through the internet and good film-book publishers/magazines who continue to write on world cinema. I think films are moving towards a transnational aesthetic - the growing awareness of other national cinemas, collaborations between people and industries from the world, and the mobility of people (immigration and traveling), etc, means that people have become more aware of other cultures.

Asia On Screen: Do you feel that these countries have as much, if not more to offer than western Cinema?

Julian Ross I think what we need to do is look at films from different parts of the world (including America) on the same level plane, and abandon this hierarchical perspective that imbues most film viewing/criticism. To paraphrase another critic’s words – Hollywood is not at the centre and other national cinemas are not placed in its periphery – all films are in circulation and interconnect at different points. Although admittedly Hollywood films dominate the market and is seen by the most, we must critically engage with each of these films without comparing it to Hollywood/European templates, and value the films/directors for their own merit, and the local traditions that probably have influenced the films as much as their western counterparts. So it is important that websites like yours exist, to get people to take notice of different national cinemas, and celebrate them for their own values. So to answer your question – a definite yes (they have as much to offer), but we shouldn’t think ‘more’. Some may be ‘inferior’ in the technical sense (US production companies have the top of the range equipment), but that doesn’t make a film more/less credible. Restrictions can do great things for art – e.g Iran’s rules on culture (I’m not sure about the details) means they depend less on violence and sex as topics that motivate a story. And better cameras don’t make a better films.

Asia On Screen: Where do you think the main differences lie from Western cinema? Aesthetic? Narrative? Etc

Julian Ross: I believe that there is such variety within both Western and Eastern cinema, it is difficult to generalise in that way. Different countries have long cultural traditions that precede cinema and evidently influence their work (i.e. theatre and writing), so I do agree that there are inevitably going to be differences (but not in the East-West sense, but diversity between different countries within Eastern parts of the world too.

But I think there is a danger in looking at films with this East-West dichotomy in mind as the base structure of our viewing – I think it might be more complicated. People believe Hollywood and the French new wave influenced all these other new wave movements in the East, but a lot of the time it's the other way too – e.g often Western ‘modernist’ artists are influenced by non-local traditions (Brecht with Eastern theatre, Picasso with Africa, etc), and in film, Japan’s Ozu is often cited as an influence (like by Wenders, and hmm can’t think of anyone else at this minute!). So in a way there are a lot of different national cinemas influencing other national cinemas – and this is happening a lot at the moment (transnational filmmaking, internet, availability of films, etc), so it’s possibly the most exciting times in that sense). This might sound stupid – but if the world is in a sphere, where is the centre that determines from where is east and from where is west? – for example, if Korea was the ‘centre’ of the world, America will be ‘East’ (would it? I’m not sure). Anyways if that makes sense… (I think there's something like Greenwich meridian that determines latitudes, etc)

Asia On Screen: Are there any Asian Directors or film you see as up and coming?

Julian Ross: My favourite Asian directors who are alive and still makings films are:

Jia Zhangke (China) – Xiao Wu or Still Life
Hsiao-hsien Hou (China) – Café Lumiere, etc
Ki-duk Kim (China (I think)) – 3-Iron
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan) – Bright Future or Tokyo Sonata
Takahiko Iimura (Japan) – various experimental films
Takeshi Kitano (Japan) – Hana-bi (to be honest contemporary Japanese cinema is somewhat lacking -> China and Iran are much more exciting (only now though : P – 60s Japanese cinema is amazing (check out Funeral Parade of Roses)
Abbas Kiarostami (Iran) – Close-Up, Taste of Cherry – new film soon
Makhmalbafs (Iran) – the daughter’s new one is supposed to be great.
Apichatong Weerasethakul (Thailand) – Tropical Malady
Nuri Bilge Ceyland (Turkey) – Three Monkeys (on DVD soon)