Every year, the Powell Street Festival works in collaboration with other organizations by sponsoring and cross promoting events connected to the Festival and our community!

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Ryuichi Ichinokawa lives a double life as a family man and a professional impersonator. His small business, “I Want To Cheer You Up Ltd,” rents people out to stand-in as family members, co-workers and others, to those who have something to hide, or something to gain. Clients have even hired Ryuichi, and a full cast, to play the roles of their entire family on their wedding day in order to avoid conflict and maintain a sense of normalcy. Despite such unbelievable deception, sometimes the means seem to justify the ends. For example, when Ryuichi is hired to play the role of a second husband in order to negotiate a child support settlement for a desperate woman, a certain type of justice is served.

Secrecy is also a main ingredient in Ryiuchi’s home life. His wife and two children have no idea what he does for a living, and they don’t seem to care. His wife admits that she doesn’t want to know what he does, as long as he pays the bills. The result is a cold and distant marriage. It’s no wonder why he takes comfort in his job as a stand-in. “I played the father of a bride once,” he tells a group of his employees, “and I couldn’t stop crying.”

A moment of truth is revealed as the disconnected family sits down for dinner and a television program blares in the background. “What does Japanese society need most right now?” demands the advert. A young boy on the TV screen responds, “Society needs more honest communication.” A pastel-coloured aesthetic, and a breezy soundtrack, give the film an idiosyncratic quality fitting for such a quirky social phenomenon. But the sadder and more fundamental question remains. Is it really worth living a lifetime of lies to conceal a single moment of truth? -SC

Powell Street Festival Society is a Community Partner for the screening of Rent A Family Inc.

To see trailer and more info, visit: Doxa

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Artwork by Lee Hutzulak

Voices and Echoes is a landmark tour of pioneering Japanese artists renowned for their unique, interdisciplinary approaches to sound-based practices: Akio Suzuki, and Gozo Yoshimasu & Otomo Yoshihide.
The performances will span a wide array of artistic disciplines including literature, sound art, conceptual performance, and improvisation – all converging around a theme of highly personalized, experimental approaches to sound perception, production, and presentation. Sound artist Akio Suzuki will perform on a range of unique instruments including an ancient stone flute (Iwabue) that has been passed down through his family for many generations, and Analapos – an instrument he invented in the 1970s that creates echoes through the acoustic transmissions of a spiral cord stretched between two metal cylinders. Experimental poet Gozo Yoshimasu performs using a unique “vocalization” recitation style, which relies upon a highly rhythmic delivery and intense vocal modulations. Yoshimasu will perform in collaboration with Otomo Yoshihide, an experimental guitarist/turntablist and leading figure in the international contemporary noise and improv landscape.

The “Voices and Echoes” North American tour is organized by ISSUE Project Room and Aki Onda. The project is supported by the Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program and Asian Cultural Council.

POWELL STREET FESTIVAL – August 4 & 5, 2012

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UPCOMING FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS! click images to enlarge

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FUN FAIR – July 14 & 15, 2012

Powell Street Festival and BLIM present, fun times for kids! Workshops in video making, button making, tshirt printing and more! For kids aged 5+. Classes are $25.

CLICK HERE for CLASS DESCRIPTIONS and ARTIST INSTRUCTOR BIOS!

Please call 604.872.8180 or email info@blim.ca to register!

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SPATIAL POETICS – July 5th, 2012

click image to enlarge

Powell Street Festival, in partnership with SFU Woodwards Vancity Office of Community Engagement, presents the 11th annual SPATIAL POETICS: SOME MONSTER. Curated by Vanessa Kwan. Featuring collaborative performances by PEGGY LEE with DELIA BRETT, YOTA KOBAYASHI with BARRY DOUPÉ and ANDREW LEE with ALEX ZHANG HUNGTAI.

Sound works by CINDY MOCHIZUKI and EMMA HENDRIX.

 

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE at Brown Paper Tickets.

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KIBATSU CINEMA- Thursday nights in June 2012!

Powell Street Festival presents the return of KIBATSU CINEMA – Eccentricity, Popular Culture and Contemporary Japanese Film! Thursday evenings in June at the Pacific Cinematheque.

Full schedule available online HERE!

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Photo of 1980 Powell Street Festival by Tamio Wakayama

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