At the moment I’m pretty busy preparing for the release of my new film, Sado Tempest which will be shown in Eurospace in Shibuya from February the 16th of next year.
Sado Tempest played in the Raindance Film Festival in London in October this year. There it was described as “gloriously demented.” I hope this is a good thing. You can see an interview with me at the following link, or if you google Sado Tempest, Raindance Film Festival.
Sado Tempest is a rock musical version of Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest (Arashi in Japanese). It might sound difficult, but actually the film is pretty easy to understand and I hope entertaining, because Shakespeare’s play is not difficult at all. The story of the play is simple and magical: a father (Prospero) and his only daughter (Miranda) are sent in exile to a strange, deserted island. On the island the father, who is a Magician, traps the spirits of the island, and forces them to create a huge storm, to lure his enemies (the men who exiled him) to the island. The enemies are shipwrecked on the island, but one of them, a young Prince (Ferdinand) falls in love with Miranda and Prospero’s plans for revenge fail. I won’t spoil it by telling you how it ends, but it is magical and hopeful.
The Tempest has been filmed many times. I will write about some of these other versions next time and write more about my own version, which is very different from the original play. It’s more like a “Science-Fiction Japanese Rock Musical.”
I hope some of the prospective students for next year are interested in making films and learning about films, because we have several teachers who use films a lot in the classroom and watching films is one of the best ways to learn about other cultures.
(John Williams)
