The TIFF Independence Days section, now its third year, focuses on independent filmmaking by provocative talent regardless of subject matter, historical era or geographic area. For the 48th edition of the TIFF, the section pays tribute to Japanese auteur Mikio Naruse, whose work will be screened in Greece for the first time. An acclaimed and prolific genius of cinema, with a rich filmography of 87 films shot from the 1930’s to 1967, it will be in Thessaloniki that Greek and foreign audiences will become acquainted with the mastery of Naruse.

Regarded as a cinematic master in Japan, Naruse, relatively unknown in the rest of the world, produced an oeuvre of films that ranged from experimental works -avant-garde in their formal concerns, even- to highly realistic dramas, maintaining throughout a constant thematic thread. Within the genre of the Shomingeki, which in a neorealist fashion dealt with the afflictions of the lower middle classes, Naruse told his stories largely through complex characterization, a diversity of cinematic styles and an unchanging pessimism towards the human condition; which is perhaps one of the main reasons that kept his work largely obscured from international audiences and contained within Japan by the studios that produced his films.

In the tribute of the 48th TIFF, 10 of Mikio Naruse’s films will be showcased, among which the masterpieces Meshi (Repast, 1951), Ukigumo (Floating Clouds, 1955) and his last film, Midaregumo (Scattered Clouds, 1967). Yogoto no yume (Every Night Dreams, 1933) will be screened with the accompaniment of live music, composed and performed especially for the event by the innovative experimental pop duo from Thessaloniki, Your Hand in Mine. A comprehensive publication produced by the TIFF will further complement the tribute.