The exhibition "Icons of Japanese fantasy films" will be open at Okendo Kultur Etxea until November 4th

2023.09.13

Donostia Kultura and the Japan Foundation present, as part of the activities programme Euskadi Japan 2023 and in the framework of the Horror Film Festival, the exhibition Icons of Japanese fantasy films. Aguilar-Haraguchi Collection, to run at the Okendo Kultur Etxea between 14 September and 4 November.

Horror, science fiction and fantasy. Kaijus, yokais, ghosts, vampires and beings from outer space. Before the explosion of Japanese animated cinema, which ripped through the world like wildfire until arriving at its current situation, and of what is known today as J-Horror, a vast number of Japanese films were produced using real images. Tales of vengeful spirits born from kabuki, adventures with local supernatural entities known as yokai, giant monsters represented by the Godzilla who now enjoys worldwide stardom or movies adapting the fashions of western cinema, such as alien invasions or vampires.

All of this cinema rendered highly imaginative posters greatly appreciated today. The Aguilar-Haraguchi Collection (one of the biggest in the world, collected by the writer and specialist in Japanese cinema Daniel Aguilar and the moviemaker and special effects makeup artist Tomoo Haraguchi) includes posters, press guides, photographs, pressbooks and all sorts of advertising material impossible to find today which can be seen at the Okendo Kultur Etxea, together with examples of Haraguchi’s work as a creator of fantasy creatures.

The exhibition includes the screening (October 16th, 19:30) at Okendo Kultur Etxea of the documentary Kaidan. Strange Stories of Japanese Ghosts (2023), directed by Yves Montmayeur.