Takashi Ito (director)

Takashi Ito
Born1956
Fukuoka, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materKyushu Institute of Design
Occupations
  • Film director
  • photographer
  • arts professor
Years active1977–present

Takashi Ito (伊藤高志, Itō Takashi, born 1956) is a Japanese experimental filmmaker[1] known for his avant-garde short films, including Spacy (1981), Thunder (1982), and Ghost (1984). His films are characterized by such photographic techniques as long-exposure and time-lapse photography, as well as a stop motion technique in which series of photographs are themselves photographed frame-by-frame, creating an animated effect.

Ito's filmmaking style and interest in experimental film were influenced by his mentor Toshio Matsumoto,[2] under whom Ito learned while a student at the Kyushu Institute of Design. Matsumoto's 1975 experimental short Ātman influenced Ito to create Noh (1977), an 8 mm short. Ito's first 16 mm short, Spacy, was completed in 1981. Spacy screened at several museums in and outside of Japan, as well as international film festivals and universities.[3] Over the course of his career, Ito has directed a total of over 20 short films, a number of which have been shown at film festivals and as part of retrospective exhibitions on Ito's filmography.

Ito's debut feature-length film, Toward Zero, premiered at the 2021 Image Forum Festival,[4] and received a theatrical release in Japan in August 2022.[5][6]

  1. ^ Michael, Chris (1 April 2010). "Flatpack film festival turns spotlight on Takashi Ito". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nishijima 1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "伊藤高志《フィルモグラフィー》" [Takashi Ito Filmography]. ImageForum.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Image Forum Film Festival 2021 | Program A | East Asian Experimental Competition". Image Forum Festival. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Takashi Ito Special Feature 2022 "To Zero" + Masterpiece Collection of Past Works". ImageForum.co.jp. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  6. ^ "零へ". Eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 January 2023.