The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu

THE ANABASIS OF MAY AND FUSAKO SHIGENOBU, NASAO ADACHI, AND 27 YEARS WITHOUT IMAGES

Fusako Shigenobu left Japan in 1971 to found the Japanese Red Army - a terrorist fringe group dedicated to supporting the Palestinian cause - and lived in Lebanon for 30 years. During Adachi’s own exile in Beirut, he met Shigenobu, and bonded with her not only over the experience of being far from home, but also over their shared fate of coming back to Japan without the possibility of ever being able to leave.

Eric Baudelaire explores the shuttle between Tokyo and Beirut and interviews May Shigenobu - Fusako’s daughter, who would only discover Japan following her mother’s arrest - and Adachi himself, touching on their respective trajectories towards the construction of their identities. The film also breaches the subject of imagery and the imaginary, comparing May’s absolute lack of visual trace of her origins and Adachi’s constant visualisation through his films which he lost during the conflict. Baudelaire makes use of archival images and film, especially Super 8 excerpts, which were shot in Tokyo and Beirut and which evoke Adachi’s landscape theory. Baudelaire’s role in the voyage eventually led him one step further, towards the creation of "The Ugly One".

Eric Baudelaire will be at the Nova May 4th to present his films and to discuss his collaborations with Adachi. He will be accompanied by Juliette Navis, lead actress in "The Ugly One".