Gift

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Eiko Ishibashi and celebrated filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi have teamed up once again on new film performance Gift, following their successful collaboration on the Oscar-winning international feature film Drive My Car. This unique Berlin premiere is presented by CTM Festival and HAU Hebbel am Ufer.

Gift is both a live performance and film created in parallel to Hamaguchi’s recent feature film Evil Does Not Exist – with both works using the same footage and scenario, yet applying a different approach. While Evil Does Not Exist was created as a classic feature film for cinematic release and won the Silver Lion at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, the companion piece Gift was crafted as a separate silent film meant for live soundtrack performance by Ishibashi.

Written and directed by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Gift is set in Mizubiki Village in Nagano, a town located on a plateau rich in nature not so far from Tokyo. Takumi and his daughter Hana, who have lived there for generations, lead a modest life, following the cycle of nature. Their small community is increasingly challenged by a steady flow of new arrivals. One day, a plan is hatched by an entertainment agency to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house. The discovery that they intend to discharge sewage into the village water source causes unrest in the village, disrupting the community’s calm way of life. A counterpart to Evil Does Not Exist, Gift offers an alternative perspective on disharmony and inevitable imbalances in man’s relationship to nature by using the same material and story, but creating a distinct, emotionally charged experience enhanced through Ishibashi’s live performance.