Yohju is working hard to climb the corporate ladder. Whilst chasing a promotion, his employers send him to Matusyama to enjoy a weekend at the Botchan Retreat. Very soon he realises this trip isn’t what it seems and now his career and his life are on the line. Taking inspiration from the famous Japanese novel Botchan, this dark comedy invites you into the arena as work colleagues battle for glory. With love, desperation, death and 20kg of flour, Botchan Retreat reimagines office politics and the cut-throat conditions of internal promotions.

Directors: Nathan Smith and Max Pollard
Writers: Nathan Smith, Thomas Pollard and Max Pollard
Producer: Ritsuko Mizuno
Cinematographer: Matt Wilson
Editor: Drew Moden
Original Score: Keegan Joyce
Artist Coordinator: Yumi Umiumare
Cast: Midori Goda, Kenta Kuroda, Miyuki Tokui, Yuki Goda

Dance (Lens)

The Dance (Lens) series highlights outstanding Dance Films from Australia and internationally with artist Q&As.

Like dance, film is conveyed in time. A time which can be manipulated, accelerated, stopped and rewound at will. On-screen narratives are produced by the rhythmic combination of takes, jump-cuts, wipes, fade-ins and fade-outs — where the camera itself becomes a choreographic tool that extends beyond the physical boundaries of the body and the stage.

Dance (Lens) explores the embodiment and disembodiment of dance, speculative stages, screening history and the communal dance of watching from the other side of the screen.

Read more about the Dance (Lens) program.