A pioneer of Japanese avant-garde cinema, Michio Okabe’s (1937-2020) films span the late 60s to the mid 70s, capturing the zeitgeist of an era defined by global political upheaval and counter-cultural movements. They collage performance art, historical references, and pop music with a freely associative approach to editing, destabilising fixed meanings of tradition and modernity. Okabe’s playful irreverence is on full display in the three short films of this programme, each one a kaleidoscope of radical possibility as disorientating as it is delightful.

The Doctrine of Creation (1967)

Inspired by Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising (1963), Okabe’s debut film subverts the creation myth of Adam and Eve into a cacophony of consumerist symbols, pop culture references, and absurdist performance.

Camp (1970)

An eclectic troupe of Butoh dancers, yakitori sellers, and vampires construct a fantastical freak show in this anarchic exploration of Japanese camp aesthetics.

Boy-Taste (1973)

Naked men play innocently in an Esoteric Buddhist temple, painting an idyllic yet unsettling portrait of boyhood.