The film editing in the works of Satoshi Kon

• Grant number: 16/12034-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2016
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Cinema
• Principal Investigator: Cecilia Antakly de Mello
• Grantee: Matheus Pinto Biscaro
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The proposed research aims to study elements of film editing in Japanese director Satoshi Kon's (1963-2010) work, with an emphasis on his films Perfect Blue (Pafekuto Buru, 1997), Millenium Actress (Sennen Joyu, 2001) and Paprika (Papurika, 2006). Kon is one of the main names in Japanese animation history, alongside Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, 2001) and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, 1988). In his short albeit influential cinematographic career, Kon produced, animated, wrote and directed four feature films and a television series, all of which had a great impact not only in Japanese animation but also in contemporary Hollywood cinema, especially in the work of visionary directors Daren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan. The aim of this research will be to analyze the artifices employed by Kon in the editing of his films in order to intertwine different time zones and different spaces. We would like to suggest that it is through his skillful use of the techniques of film editing that Kon is able to confuse the limits between reality and fantasy, past and present. This works as a powerful commentary on Japanese contemporary society and its cultural industry, which produces myriad audiovisual and graphic works able to promote an immersion into virtual and imaginary realities, away from the objective real.