Gakuryu Ishii, who is a professor of film course at Kobe Institute of Technology, suddenly disappears after falling into a mad state driven by his own idea of “self-revolutionary movie struggle work”. His assistant professor Takeda and assistant Tanimoto are perplexed by the “work text for inner consciousness revolution aimed at expanding the imagination and recognition of the individual and strengthening the will” that he left behind, but try to turn it into practice with the students. By practicing, the students get lost in a labyrinthine world of expanded imagination and expanded consciousness, just like in a film. At the same time, Takeda pursues the shadow of Ishii.

After the inexplicable disappearance of their professor (the legendary Japanese director Gakuryu Ishii), a class of students and assistant professors at the Kobe Institute of Technology investigate Ishii’s whereabouts via his “Self-Revolutionary Struggle Training”. Complete with musical interludes, cinematic recreations, modality breaks and metatextual glimpses into the film’s own production, this didactic DIY-epic captures the breadth of cinematic history and theory and filters it through the youth. Though pointedly not an official curriculum, the film itself is an exhaustive education – albeit one poisoned by systemic self-doubt – that we encourage you to enroll in!

Intended to *only ever* be screened in theaters and never become available online, Self-Revolutionary Cinematic Struggle is designed with very particular technical qualifications, including 4K resolution and glorious 5.1 surround sound. You will not want to miss the North American premiere of this definitive work from the director of cult favorites like August in the Water & Electric Dragon 80000V.

Feat. pre-recorded Q&A with filmmaker Gakuryu Ishii

Doors Open 30 Minutes Before Showtime.