“To review all of Iimura’s work is an important occasion for all who are concerned with the development and pleasures of cinema as an art” (Jonas Mekas)

The most influential figure in Japanese experimental cinema, Takahiko Iimura is a pioneer of expanded cinema, video art and film installations in his native country. Living “in & out” of Japan since the 1960s, Iimura has shown an impressive breadth in his artistic practice that spans decades and various continents. His focus, nevertheless, has remained distinctly material, engaged with the physicality of the media with which he works to bring out the key components of darkness and light that he considers the essence of cinema. Returning to Amsterdam for the first time since his screening at the Nederlands Filmmuseum on his six-month European tour in 1969, our unique program comprise of three distinct sections that highlight his career: the first, a focus on his early Dada-inspired work; the second, a presentation of structuralist film experiments; and the third, an expanded cinema performance. Takahiko Iimura will be present for a Q&A moderated by Julian Ross.