Bosozoku Beach: Japanese Biker Films in the Rockaways
Screen Slate + Rockaway Film Festival Present
BOSOZOKU BEACH
Japanese Biker Films in the Rockaways
4:30pm / Indoors: GOD SPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR (1976)
6:30pm / Indoors: STRAY CAT ROCK: DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS (1970)
8:30pm / Outdoors: HIS MOTORBIKE, HER ISLAND (1986)
Food by Brothers x Extra Briney
Arverne Cinema: 72-02 Gouverneur Ave, Arverne, NY 11692
Tickets: $20 all day, $10 one film at rockawayfilmfestival.org
Show up on two wheels for half-priced admission
Screen Slate members free - Info on Patreon
In rapidly industrializing post-war Japan, returning soldiers and disillusioned youth turned to thundering motorbikes as sources of identity, camaraderie, and adrenaline. By the 1970s, bosozoku gangs had become a fully formed subculture based around customized bikes, violent clashes with authority, and outlandish and often transgressive fashion that took cues from Imperial Japan, kamikaze pilot uniforms, hippies, and American greasers.
It’s no surprise that Japan produced some of the very best motorcycle cinema, arguably surpassing the American post-Easy Rider biker flick boom in both quantity and quality. Featuring iconic bikes from Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki, the bosozoku films are anarchic pop-art gems that reflect the mash-up of cultural symbols and sensibilities revving through the motorcycle subculture. For Bosozoku Beach, Screen Slate and Rockaway Film Festival invite people to join us for three of the very best: Mitsuo Yanagimachi’s visceral gang documentary God Speed You! Black Emperor, the motogirl classic Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, and House director Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s high-speed romance His Motorbike, Her Island. Show up on two wheels for half-priced admission.
Programmed and presented by Screen Slate, Andrea Torres, and Rockaway Film Festival. Flyer: Steak Mtn.
God Speed You! Black Emperor
Mitsuo Yanagimachi, 1976, 91 min
4:30PM INDOORS
In the 1970s, Mitsuo Yanagimachi embedded himself directly into the Black Emperors, one of Japan’s biggest, most violent biker gangs. Filming in grainy 16mm—often at night, mounted onto a speeding motorcycle, using only street lamps and headlights—Yanagimachi creates a visceral sense of immediacy while also exposing the Emperors’ rigid, fascistic organizing structure.
God Speed You! Black Emperor has not shown in New York in more than a decade and is difficult to find in high quality, making this a rare opportunity to see the definitive boots-on-the-ground (or up-on-the-footpegs) documentary of ‘70s bosozoku culture.
Special thanks: Mitsuo Yanagimachi, Koichi Mori, and Karen Severns.
Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss
Yasuharu Hasebe, 1970, 80 min
6:30PM INDOORS
The first of five Stray Cat Rock films stars pop singer Akiko Wada and action icon Meiko Kaji as leaders of a violent girl gang in a deadly clash with right-wing nationalists. The female leads’ effortless cool, the psychedelic fashion and soundtrack, and the impressive riding skills (including a wild chase across crowded pedestrian walkways) make it a snappy audience-pleasing gem.
Special thanks: Bret Berg/AGFA
His Motorbike, Her Island
Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1986, 90 min
8:30PM OUTDOORS
Koh (Takashi Miike regular Riki Takeuchi) loves his Kawasaki W3 more than anything—even his sweet, soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend. He thinks he finds his perfect match in Miyoko, a free spirited girl from a rural island who is down to ride. But when Miyoko’s natural abilities surpass Koh’s own and she lusts for something beefier than her 250cc starter bike, Koh worries that she’s revving down a dangerous path. Switching between film stocks and aspect ratios, incorporating avant-garde gags, and featuring some breathtaking urban and island riding scenes, His Motorbike, Her Island is a funny and stylish pop-art romance from House filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi.
Special thanks: Nico B/Cult Epics, Bret Berg/AGFA