RETRODREAMING examines the common phenomenon of ghostly, abandoned schools due to demographic change in the countryside of Japan. Empty schools in deserted villages tell their own story, may it be during the pandemic, after a nuclear catastrophe, or just due to depopulation. The film references the Japanese tradition of telling "Kaidan" (ghost stories/scary stories) and the multiple school-themed "Kaidan" (Gakkō no Kaidan, Japanese for "Scary School Story") in Japanese mainstream culture, which encompass the idea of entities and memories remaining in these architectures.
The film focuses on the visual quality of the Showa-era architecture of the abandoned Sawada School in Nakanojo. A voice from a tape recorder recalls the reality of a secret experiment during a pandemic that resulted in further mysterious events. The audiovisual experience draws the viewer into a strange, suspenseful atmosphere somewhere between an unlived retro-future, a sci-fi dream, and an unfinished mystery tale.
The film slowly reveals fragmentary glimpses of an entity inhabiting the dreams of the experiment's test subjects, while the actual source of the tape, and whether the entity is a ghost or an algorithm, remains unknown.
post production:
ATELIER 105
4 PRINTS IN DISTRIBUTION
|
distribution format |
Digital file on USB stick (4K) |
|
screen |
16/9 (single screen) |
|
speed |
24 fps |
|
sound |
sound |
|
original language |
English |
|
translation |
French (Embedded subtitles) |
|
rental fee |
75,00 € |
|
distribution format |
Digital file on USB stick (4K) |
|
screen |
16/9 (single screen) |
|
speed |
24 fps |
|
sound |
sound |
|
original language |
English |
|
rental fee |
75,00 € |
|
distribution format |
DCP on server (INTEROP 4K) |
|
screen |
16/9 (single screen) |
|
speed |
24 fps |
|
sound |
sound |
|
original language |
English |
|
translation |
French (Embedded subtitles) |
|
rental fee |
75,00 € |
|
distribution format |
DCP on server (INTEROP 4K) |
|
screen |
16/9 (single screen) |
|
speed |
24 fps |
|
sound |
sound |
|
original language |
English |
|
rental fee |
75,00 € |
