The Stormy Man: Jazz, Japan & Counterculture

Jazz has long been viewed as countercultural in Japan. Hosted by Philip Arneill, Jazz, Japan & Counterculture celebrates the unique cultural place jazz holds in Japan and features a live performance by Belfast’s Scott Flanigan Trio, an introduction to Tokyo Jazz Joints, a project documenting Japan’s hidden world of ‘jazz kissa’, followed by a rare screening of the 1957 Japanese classic The Stormy Man (Japanese with English subtitles).

Directed by Umetsugu Inoue, The Stormy Man is one of the classic ‘Sun Tribe’ films from Nikkatsu studios, starring Yujiro Ishihara as a young drummer employing both his hands and his fists in the Ginza jazz world. A box office smash in Japan with its young audience, it was an event, a generational marker, and a much-revived classic.

Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery.

As part of BIAF this year, QFT will present two touring programmes of new and rediscovered gems: Queer East, an independent LGBTQ+ film festival focusing on queer cinema from East and Southeast Asia; and Cinema Rediscovered, returning for its sixth edition with a line-up of movie magic, from brand new restorations and rediscoveries to film curiosities. More details online.