[Mini Theater Revisited] Prologue

Movie theaters have been in dire straits ever since the novel coronavirus infection issue surfaced. As theaters continue to be closed and screenings postponed, the decline in revenue has become a matter of life and death, especially for small mini-theaters.

Takashi Asai, CEO of Uplink, a film company that has contributed to mini-theater culture for many years, appeared on a TV news program. ``If mini-theaters disappear, cultural diversity will be lost,'' he complained about the situation. Representative Asai, who always seemed tough, seemed to have lost some of his strength, which touched my heart. Several movements have already begun to save these mini-theaters.

In this article, I will be reintroducing ``Mini Theater Revisit'', which was serialized on Geijutsu Shimbun's website from 2013 to 2014.

This is a project that looks back on the history of Tokyo's mini theaters since the 1980s through interviews with those involved. I would be happy if you could learn about the vibrancy of theaters and towns at the time, their cultural contributions and roles, and above all, the dreams and passion of the people involved.

Mini theaters actually faced a number of crises in the 2010s. And in recent years, he has begun to exert his power in a slightly different way than before.

This time, in order to support mini-theaters that have found themselves in a new predicament, I would like to ``revisit'' the town where one of Tokyo's most famous mini-theaters was located.

*The following articles were serialized on the website operated by Geijutsu Shimbun between 2013 and 2014. This time, we have received permission from Sawako Omori and Geijutsu Shinbunsha Co., Ltd. to reprint this work.

Index

• What is a mini theater?
• Globalization that was far away
• Changes in mini theater

The spread of large TVs, DVDs and BDs. Complete with satellite broadcasting, etc. Video distribution over the Internet. Now that you can watch movies on your smartphone, what is the point of going to the theater?

Will time erase the existence of theaters? Film critic Sawako Omori attempts to find the answer in the mini-theaters that flourished in the 1980s and 1990s. By revisiting the people, cities, and works that lived in that era, when theater was certainly hot, you'll surely discover something...

What is a mini theater?

When did the term "mini theater" originate in Japan? I think it's probably from the 1980s. Literally translated, it means "small theater" and refers to a movie theater with a small capacity, but it does not mean a theater that is a smaller version of a roadshow theater that can accommodate a large number of people.

The role is also different from that of a masterpiece theater, which re-screens movies that have already been released on a road show. “Mini theaters” had a different role than roadshow halls and masterpiece theaters. What was such a mini theater?

In recent years, mini theaters have been closing in Tokyo. In 2011, Ebisu Garden Cinema in Ebisu and Cine Saison Shibuya in Shibuya. Ginza Theater Cinema will also close in 2013.

As a movie fan, I feel very lonely when I hear stories like that. This is probably because he began his career as a freelance writer in the early 1980s, when mini theaters were taking off in Tokyo, and has written manuscripts for many mini theater productions.

Globalization that was far away