CINEMA IRIS

CINEMA IRIS (函館市民映画館シネマアイリス, Hakodate Citizens' Cinema Iris) is a small independent movie theater, or mini-theater, located in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. It sits near Goryokaku Park in the city's downtown area and is operated by the limited company Yugen Kaisha Iris. It is regarded as one of Japan's community cinemas (コミュニティシネマ), a movement of citizen-supported arthouse theaters. The theater opened on May 24, 1996, after a citizens' group led by Kazuhiro Sugawara raised funds from 470 Hakodate residents to establish a permanent cinema. It was the second mini-theater in Hokkaido, following Theater Kino in Sapporo (opened 1992). Its opening day screenings were Smoke (dir. Wayne Wang) and Castrato (dir. Gérard Corbiau). In its first year, Trainspotting (dir. Danny Boyle) became a major hit. Over the years, CINEMA IRIS has expanded its programming beyond arthouse films to include children's animation during school holidays and classic repertory titles not shown at multiplexes. It has hosted director talks, including Kiyoshi Kurosawa for Loft in 2006, and has celebrated anniversaries with special retrospectives. In 2008, it reached its 1,000th film screening with Departures (Okuribito, dir. Yojiro Takita), which became a long-running hit after winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The theater has also been involved in film production, helping to realize adaptations of works by Hakodate-born author Yasushi Sato: The Light Shines Only There (2014) and A Story of Yonosuke (2013). The former won the Best Director award at the Montreal World Film Festival. In 2010, with a subsidy from a regional shopping district revitalization program, the cinema installed digital and 3D projection equipment. In 2017, its seats were renewed. Today, CINEMA IRIS remains a focal point for film culture in Hakodate, offering a mix of new releases, independent films, and community-oriented programming. It has a single screen with 71 seats and is accessible by a short walk from Goryokaku-koen-mae tram stop.

In the early 1990s, Hakodate's cinema landscape was shrinking: directly operated theaters of major film companies closed one after another, and in 1993 the long-established Tomoe-za theater in Omori-cho also closed. A citizens' group led by Kazuhiro Sugawara, deprived of a venue for independent screenings, aimed to open a permanent cinema and raised funds from 470 Hakodate residents. On May 24, 1996, CINEMA IRIS opened near Goryokaku Park in Hakodate's downtown. It was the second mini-theater/community cinema in Hokkaido, following Theater Kino in Sapporo (opened 1992). The opening day's films were Smoke (dir. Wayne Wang) and Castrato (dir. Gérard Corbiau). In its first year, Trainspotting (dir. Danny Boyle) was a big hit. Kanna Muragishi, a singer-songwriter from Hakodate, saw Naomi Kawase's Moe no Suzaku (Suzaku) in March 1998 upon graduating from junior high school. At the time of opening, Hakodate had four cinemas, but one by one they closed, leaving only CINEMA IRIS and Cinema Taiyo Hakodate (4 screens) near JR Hakodate Station. Initially, CINEMA IRIS screened only mini-theater films, but eventually it began showing children's animated films during long school holidays and classic masterpieces not screened at multiplexes. In 2006, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa held a talk show for the release of Loft, and director Tetsuo Shinohara has visited every time his films were released. On May 24, 2006, the cinema celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special screening of films featuring Hideko Takamine (a Hakodate native) and Mikio Naruse. On December 6, 2008, it reached its 1,000th film screening with the Shochiku film Departures (Okuribito, dir. Yojiro Takita). The following spring, the film won the Japan Academy Prize and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and it became a long-running hit, screening for about three months and being re-screened. In 2009, Sugawara and others planned the film adaptation of A Story of Yonosuke (Kaitei Shijou) based on a novel by Hakodate-born author Yasushi Sato, which was filmed in Hakodate and released in autumn 2010. In 2013, they planned another adaptation of a Yasushi Sato novel, The Light Shines Only There (Soko ni Hikari Sasu), also filmed in Hakodate and released in spring 2014. The Light Shines Only There was highly acclaimed, winning the Best Director award at the Montreal World Film Festival, and an encore screening was held at CINEMA IRIS. In 2010, with a subsidy from a regional shopping district revitalization project, the cinema installed digital and 3D projection equipment. In 2017, the seats were renewed.

• 2017

  Renews the seats in the theater.

• 2014

  The Light Shines Only There, a film it helped produce, is released and wins Best Director at the Montreal World Film Festival.

• 2010

  Installs digital and 3D projection equipment with a subsidy from a regional revitalization project.

• 2008

  Reaches 1,000th film screening with Departures (Okuribito) on December 6.

• 2006

  Celebrates 10th anniversary with a special screening of films featuring Hideko Takamine and Mikio Naruse.

• 1996

  CINEMA IRIS opens on May 24 in Hakodate, Hokkaido, as the second mini-theater in Hokkaido.

Community-oriented mini-theater specializing in arthouse, independent, and classic films, with a focus on local film culture and citizen participation.

• Film screenings

  Regular screenings of arthouse, independent, and classic films, as well as children's animation during school holidays.

• Special retrospectives

  Curated retrospectives, such as the 10th-anniversary tribute to Hideko Takamine and Mikio Naruse.

• Film production

  Involvement in producing films based on works by Hakodate-born author Yasushi Sato, including A Story of Yonosuke and The Light Shines Only There.

1. 1ホームcinemairis.com
2. 2シネマアイリス - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
3. 3CINEMA IRIS - Wikidatawikidata.org