Viewer Advice: Contains archival footage of war and conflict.

Slip into the serene surrounds of Japanese ‘listening cafés’, where music lovers, audiophiles and locals come together to hear records.

Kissa are some of Japan’s greatest cultural hubs; within these settings, people from differing walks of life congregate to relax, indulge and take in music in a collective setting. They are often institutions, like the Meikyoku Kissa Lion, a 100-year-old classical music café in Shibuya. As its title suggests, the limited series A Century in Sound chronicles the history of music in the country through the prism of these spaces, from their social importance as gathering places in postwar times to how they heralded the arrival and influence of Western culture during the second half of the 20th century.

Much like MIFF 2021 favourite Come Back Anytime, this loving, endearing portrait from New Zealand filmmakers Tu Neill and Nick Dwyer – who previously made Diggin’ in the Carts, a 2014 documentary series about Japanese videogame music – transports audiences to the world of a uniquely Japanese phenomenon. Fresh off its premiere at CPH:DOX, MIFF will screen three instalments of A Century in Sound as a single program; the trio of episodes will profile cafés spinning classical, jazz and J-rock records, respectively.

PRESENTED BY

———
Directors Nick Dwyer and Tu Neill and cinematographer Tim Flower are guests of the festival and will be in attendance at both sessions of the film.