The film screening of Kine[ma]tic Connections (2023, Japan)

The film was shot in the historic district of Murasakino, north of Kyoto, with the support of the North Kyoto machizukuri organisation and Murasaki Style Project, a local NGO. The collaboration culminated in a community screening presented by the participating students to the local Kyoto community, then premiered at the Kyoto 2023 Architecture Film Festival. Citizen participation extended beyond attendance at the screening and audience feedback, as local residents and homeowners were also protagonists in the project.

As with most cities across Japan, Murasakino - birthplace of the 11^th Century courtesan Shikibu Murasakino (author of the The Tale of Genji) who is also buried - is severely impacted by a shrinking population but is currently experiencing grassroots revitalisation following renewed in-migration and artisanal start-ups. With centuries-old trades associated with Daitokuji (a venerated Buddhist temple located centrally in the neighbourhood) still active, the new infusion is changing the local demographic as well as the social and cultural landscape in interesting ways.

The film attempts to surface the distinctive qualities of Murasakino to a universal audience. The methodology and approach formulated for the Kyoto workshop that result in the film were designed to guide a critical application of architecture film (eizō kenchiku in Japanese) to uncover forgotten stories and time-honoured traditions, and highlight discontinuities between living knowledge and contemporary lifestyles.

This screening, co-organised with the ENSAG, will look at the issues involved in making architectural films. Aimed at academics, creative practitioners, community activists, higher education students, particularly architecture students, and members of the public interested in community engagement, this workshop invites participants to consider how cultural density is layered, made distinct in time and enacted in space. Using film as a critical medium for documentation and communication, participants will share how these elements can be imaginatively made tangible through moving images.