Bun Nakata
While studying aesthetic and history of art at Keio University, she started working for Shuji TERAYAMA both as a scripter and an actress. From ’83 on, she left stage and begun working in television and film. She was also involved with a music band as lyricist and vocalist before working as an editor/writer. After developing an aroma project for a cosmetic company, she started shooting documentaries from ’03. Her first work, UTAKATA was a hit at one of art houses in Tokyo in ’05. She collaborated with Nobuhiro SUWA for his documentary, SESSION D and finished her 2nd documentary SAEKINGDOM in ’09.

UTAKATA - the portrait series - ‘The Queen of Shopholic’
(DV/61min/color/Standard/Dolby Digital/Japanese/Japan)
Genre: Documentary
Directed by Bun Nakata

“Marriage and romantic love don’t go together.”
“You can’t stay in love with one person forever.”
“The idea of ageing gracefully is just a shallow myth.”- Usagi Nakamura

INTRODUCTION
After writing “The Queen of Shopping”, Usagi Nakamura, the Shopaholic writer began frequenting host clubs and then found a new obsession in Cosmetic Surgery. This documentary follows her eventful daily life as she speaks from the heart on sex, relationships, marriage, self-consciousness, her appearance, and also about her ideas of “aging happily.” At work, in the waiting room of the clinic, in a café, at a studio, and even on the operating table, she is always her self. We follow her into the operating theatre to watch her breast implant operation. Just how far will Usagi’s desires take her?
She seems like a radical woman, but is basically driven by self-interest and a desire for fleeting happiness. Usagi personifies the emotional inner life of all women their instinctive desires. Her frank world view will give the audience magical sense of exhilaration and power.
◇　◇　◇

Usagi Nakamura - Biography
Born on Feburary 28th, 1958 in Fukuoka, she grew up in Yokohama and graduated from the Department of English Literature at Doshisha University. She worked in an office, and then as a copywriter, before publishing her first fantasy novel, ”Gokudo kun, Manyuki” which was adapted as an animation. She became obsessed with shopping for designer brands and spent over one hundred million yen in five years on shopping. Her column: “The Queen of Shopping” in Shukan Bunshu candidly depicted her days as a “Shopaholic” and was immensely popular. In the summer of 2008 she turned 43 and became obsessed with youth and beauty and she started going to host clubs. She experimented with minor cosmetic surgery, such as Botox and injecting hyaluronan, and finally got a face lift. She also had breast implants, and posed for nude photo spreads. Her husband is a gay man from Hong Kong who is 10 years younger than her and their rule of not bringing romance and sex into the family is an open secret.  

Staff:
Produced, Directed, Edited and Shot by Bun Nakata / Cinematography and Editing support from Kazuo Kato / Music by Keisuke Sakurai
Featuring:
Usagi Nakamura, Shimako Iwai, Mayumi Kurata, Yukari Nakase and others
ⓒ2004 Bun Nakata Documentary

SAEKINGDOM - the portrait series – ‘The King of Subculture’
(DV/61min/color/Vista/Dolby Digital/Japanese/Japan)
Genre: Documentary
Directed by Bun Nakata


～In 2006, most people did not notice the spark that ignited the flames of a rebirth.

Introduction
Kraftwerk in Germany, Yellow Magic Orchestra in Japan, Telex in Belgium; these were the world famous Synth-Rock bands of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Kenzo Saeki began his musical career at this time as the lead singer of Halmens, and established himself as a major performer on the Japanese underground scene. A quarter of a century later, he still remains a charismatic figure in the world of underground music and subculture in general. How does the beginning of the 21st century look to a man who has been in active in the underground scene in Japan for the last twenty years?

Cyber + α
Kenzo Saeki formed Halmens in 1980, named after his Junior High band Shonen Homeruns. This is when he began to express the Cybertech worldview he discovered in his birthplace, Chiba. By chance (or some twist of fate) it was the same scenery in Japan that inspired William Gibson, the emperor of Cyberpunk, at around the same time.
But there is more to Kenzo Saeki than his Cyber image. Pearl Brothers (who started to play in 1986) added a more human aspect to their work and continue to perform live even today. This documentary follows Saeki and his band Pearl Brothers, and focuses on the days leading up to and after their come-back gig in 2006. It is not a nostalgic documentary but an examination of the place where Saeki ended up after outlasting all the changes in the music scene since the height of the new wave.

Lyrics + sound +α
“Sometimes the cultural value of music can be better transmitted through words.”(Kenzo Saeki)
The impact of Kenzo Saeki’s lyrics is particularly strong. He has always been fascinated by semantics and he holds up handmade lyrics boards and explains his lyrics to the audience from the stage. The band’s music illustrates the lyrics and he works with long time musical collaborators he trusts.

Musician +α+ …
Musician, lyricist, essayist, producer, dentist… Kenzo Saeki has many faces, but he is above all an artist who has survived by refining the world of the “Otaku” (fanboy culture) and raising it to a higher level. For this he is known as a charismatic leader in the subculture world. The strength of this techno-boy, who seemed so transient at first, may show us the way to survive our difficult modern times.

Staff
Camera: SUN ART, Hirotomo KANAMORI, Satoshi ARAKI, Daisuke SATO, Daisuke AKIYAMA / Music: Kenzo SAEKI, Pearl Brothers / Still Photography: Yuccow / Production Manager: Norihide OHKUBO / Production: @ZEROFOUR, Cinema Port Academy / Directed, Edited and Produced by Bun NAKATA

Featuring
Kenzo SAEKI, Haruo KUBOTA, BAKABON SUZUKI, Tsuyoshi MIYAGAWA, Keiji MATSUMOTO, Maki NOMIYA, Toru OKADA, Hikoichi HAYASHIYA, Tetsutaro SAKURAI, DJ Kiupii, Genius, Naruyoshi KIKUCHI, Keiichi SUZUKI
ⓒ2009 Bun Nakata Documentary