Cinema before Cinema is an ongoing project that aims to explore the dialogue between still and moving images along with improvised sound and music.
The projects started in Tokyo in 2010, and developed throughout several collaborations with improvise musicians.
The inspiration of the performance comes from the desire to amplify the scientific and artistic impulse behind sequence photography and masters such as Eadweard Muybridge and E.J. Marey, whose work led to the birth of silent cinema.
As the project started in Japan, the undertaking of the presentation refers as well to the Japanese tradition of benshi, who, during silent films epoch, stood to the side of the movie screen introducing and relating the story to the audience.
As a contemporary form of “silent cinema”, the project keeps exploring different tales, with the aim to pursue an intimate and poetic vision.
Cinema before Cinema has been presented at significant festivals such as Paris, Centre Pompidou – Hors Pistes Festival in 2011 and Tokyo Wonder Site Experimental Festival in 2012.
Artists from different cultures and practices have joined the project.