The Advent of “Mini Theater”: The Diversification of International Films in Japan and a New Kind of Film Ephemera

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, Art Theatre Guild (ATG), Japan’s first independent film production company, firmly established the foundation of production and distribution of non-commercial, art house films. Movie theaters that distributed independent films appeared in the Japanese film industry between the 1980’s and the 1990’s. In the post-war period, people’s cultural […]

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The Dawn of Art Films in Japan, Art Theatre Guild (ATG): Ushering in Innovative Forms

A powerful logo on some pieces of ephemera immediately caught my attention. The logo, “アートシアター (Āto shiatā/Art Theatre)” or “atg” in its impressive design, stands for Art Theatre Guild (ATG), a film distribution company, founded in 1961. The company built up the foundation of today’s avant-garde film distribution in Japan, and literally made it a […]

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