© 2026 The Couch Critic
Directed by Shinji Aoyama in collaboration with Tama Art University, this rarely-seen experimental three-part series (2012–2015) explores cinema as a dynamic, living medium. Combining student-led production with theatrical adaptation and meta-narrative devices, FUGAKU challenges conventional filmmaking while interrogating the boundaries between fiction, reality, and creative education.
K, a projectionist, is taken to a lakeside deep in the mountains. There, in a place called “The Dog House”, he finds Professor Shiny in an electrified helmet and his daughter, who is now a corpse. The film was composed from words drawn from a Twitter bot, quoting existing words and images. Directed by Shinji Aoyama in collaboration with Tama Art University, this rarely-seen experimental three-part series (2012–2015) explores cinema as a dynamic, living medium. Combining student-led production with theatrical adaptation and meta-narrative devices, FUGAKU challenges conventional filmmaking while interrogating the boundaries between fiction, reality, and creative education.
An ensemble drama opens with the son of a celebrated actress staging his own play for his mother and her lover, a popular writer, at a lakeside home. The second FUGAKU installment adapts Chekhov’s The Seagull, condensing the three-hour play to forty minutes of dialogue and a minimal set. This sparing use of text and stage design highlights the actors’ presence and the energy of their interactions. Directed by Shinji Aoyama in collaboration with Tama Art University, this rarely-seen experimental three-part series (2012–2015) explores cinema as a dynamic, living medium. Combining student-led production with theatrical adaptation and meta-narrative devices, FUGAKU challenges conventional filmmaking while interrogating the boundaries between fiction, reality, and creative education.
The final film in the FUGAKU series. Set on a university campus, the film parallels a gun battle between a group of people plotting to assassinate the ‘President’ and a conversation between students and professors who have gathered to compose the theme song for the university’s film festival. Directed by Shinji Aoyama in collaboration with Tama Art University, this rarely-seen experimental three-part series (2012–2015) explores cinema as a dynamic, living medium. Combining student-led production with theatrical adaptation and meta-narrative devices, FUGAKU challenges conventional filmmaking while interrogating the boundaries between fiction, reality, and creative education.