The Voice of Silent Films: The Discussion with Benshi Ichiro Kataoka

One of the most prominent guests at this year’s SFS will be Ichiro Kataoka, a follower of the significant tradition of Japanese silent cinema in which public screenings were accompanied with live performances of professional narrators called benshi. The festival audience will have a chance to see Ichiro Kataoka’s masterful interpretations of two silent films by Yasujiro Ozu. In his masterclass, he will talk about this tradition, his role and the responsibility of someone who not only accompanies films with his voice, but also co-creates, completes and transforms them for the audience.