Bridging Japanese and International Cinema
Japan has a history of cultural exchange with the world through cinema.
TOMUYA ENDO, a singer and film researcher, delves into the history of cultural exchange through film from multiple perspectives in a live performance where he sings film music while projecting scenes from movies. His journey into film research was inspired by collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti, known for his work with David Lynch, and Francis Lai, renowned for his scores in A Man and a Woman and Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. Music resonates more directly with the heart than visuals. On December 11, TOMUYA will focus on Japanese film music, unraveling the stories of how each film and song was influenced by other films and cultures, through a live performance.
Tomuya Endo:
Singer / Film Researcher
After his singing career with Kitajima Music Publishing in Japan, and producing for musicians and actors, he began his singing career in Paris in 1992, successfully holding a concert at the Olympia Theatre. Through his musical collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti, the composer known for scoring David Lynch’s ‚Twin Peaks,‘ and Francis Lai, renowned for his film compositions, he delved deeply into research on both Japanese and international films.
In 2012, he published the monumental work ‚Franco-Japanese Film Exchanges‘ (Matsumoto Studio), which explores cultural exchanges through film between Japan and France. In 2020, he contributed to the publication of Yasujiro Ozu’s ‚Complete Diaries of Yasujiro Ozu‘ by Carlotta in Paris, from its inception and wrote the foreword. He also authored ‚The Woman Known as the ‚Red Rose‘ of Paris,‘ chronicling the life of Yoko Tani, a Japanese actress who had a successful international career based in Paris.
He appeared as one of the commentators in the documentary film ‚Keiko Kishi: Une Femme Libre‘ (Director: Pascal-Alex Vincent). His collection of film posters amounts to 3,000 pieces, and he also has 4,000 film flyers. In addition to posters and flyers, his collection includes hundreds of kitschy objects related to stars of French and Japanese cinema.