■ Book Data Title: NEW CINEMA EXPRESS, First Issue (Vol. 1) Published: January 1, 1975 Editor: Masataka Hara (now Masato Hara, Film Director) Pages: 16p Condition: Overall yellowing The year 1975, when this magazine was first published, was a time in the Japanese film industry when commercialism and the independent spirit were intricately intertwined. Following the Nouvelle Vague of the 1960s, established film criticism was losing its effectiveness, and new ways of understanding the significance of film and methods of production and criticism were being sought. The editor of this magazine, Masataka Hara (later film director Masato Hara), was already active in the independent film world at the time, and the launch of this critical magazine itself was a major challenge in the Japanese film criticism world of the time, representing "criticism by the creators." "Cinema is the Creation of Heaven and Earth": As seen in the cover's dialogue title (Masataka Hara x Tatsuo Kobayashi), the magazine is permeated with a strong ideology and philosophy that seeks to redefine cinema not just as entertainment or art, but as a fundamental act directly connected to the recognition and creation of the world. ◉ Serial: First Report on the Production of Hatsukuni Shirimesu Sumera Mikoto This is a production report on Mr. Hara's representative independent film, "Hatsukuni Shirimesu Sumera Mikoto" (completed in 1971), and is definitive proof that the magazine emphasized "criticism from the field by the filmmakers themselves," delving deeply into the ideology of independent film production in Japan at the time. ◉ About the Independent Film "Hatsukuni Shirimesu Sumera Mikoto" At the age of 23, Masato Hara embarked on a road movie, traveling across Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu with an 8mm camera. In the 1970s, when the Zenkyoto movement came to an end, Hara's journey, which began with the intention of fundamentally rethinking the limits of the nation, eventually transformed into a journey exploring the origins of cinema. It was enthusiastically supported by young people aspiring to filmmaking of the same generation and was called a legendary film. #Image Forum #Film Art Society #Cinematheque Japonais #Sogetsu Art Center #Experimental Film #OFFTHEATERFILMFESTIVAL #Pia Film Festival #PFF #Yufuin Film Festival #Roppongi Cine Club #Independent Film #Indie Film #Underground Film #8mm Film #Uplink #Lumen Gallery #Art Theatre Shinjuku #ATS #Art Colin #Mokushi Film Archive #Uchukan #Shigeomi Sato #A Ballad of Sorrow Colored with Fun #Yoshio Hayakawa's History of Self-Expression #Ulysses' Strange Journey