earthearthearth, Canada 2021, no dialogue, 30 min., 35mm
Book tickets
Sonic Cinema and the Japan Foundation present the films of Montreal-based artist Daïchi Saïto, projected from his personal 35mm prints. A rare encounter with a singular voice in artisanal film practice, this programme highlights Saïto’s skill in bridging metaphysical concepts with sensory experience.
Born in Japan, Daïchi Saïto makes films of intense beauty and power, grounded in abstract approaches to landscape, rhythm, and perception. Produced through expressive use of optical manipulation and painstaking frame-by-frame photochemical treatments, the films in this programme carry a tactile and elemental intensity, teasing out the sensual poetry of the natural world and human subjectivity.
Drawing on Saïto's studies in philosophy, literature, and the languages of Hindi and Sanskrit, as much as the language of cinema, these are films built on a poetic dialogue of sound and image. Guided by the expressive improvised soundtracks of Malcolm Goldstein and Jason Sharp, we'll traverse exterior and interior landscapes, from the darkened primordial deserts of Saïto's most recent film earthearthearth (2021), through the stained glass forest of Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis (2009), before the torrent of memories and cool mountain vistas carries us away in Engram of Returning (2015).
Daïchi will join us in person for a Q&A with series curator Oliver Dickens following the screening.
Programme
earthearthearth, Canada 2021, 30 min., 35mm
Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis, Canada 2009, 10 min., 35mm
Engram of Returning, Canada, Japan 2015, 18’30 min., 35mm
Programmed by Oliver Dickens for Sonic Cinema, presented in partnership with the Japan Foundation.
Born in Japan, Daïchi Saïto makes films of intense beauty and power, grounded in abstract approaches to landscape, rhythm, and perception. Produced through expressive use of optical manipulation and painstaking frame-by-frame photochemical treatments, the films in this programme carry a tactile and elemental intensity, teasing out the sensual poetry of the natural world and human subjectivity.
Drawing on Saïto's studies in philosophy, literature, and the languages of Hindi and Sanskrit, as much as the language of cinema, these are films built on a poetic dialogue of sound and image. Guided by the expressive improvised soundtracks of Malcolm Goldstein and Jason Sharp, we'll traverse exterior and interior landscapes, from the darkened primordial deserts of Saïto's most recent film earthearthearth (2021), through the stained glass forest of Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis (2009), before the torrent of memories and cool mountain vistas carries us away in Engram of Returning (2015).
Daïchi will join us in person for a Q&A with series curator Oliver Dickens following the screening.
Programme
earthearthearth, Canada 2021, 30 min., 35mm
Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis, Canada 2009, 10 min., 35mm
Engram of Returning, Canada, Japan 2015, 18’30 min., 35mm
Programmed by Oliver Dickens for Sonic Cinema, presented in partnership with the Japan Foundation.
Sonic Cinema is a curatorial project by Oliver Dickens, exploring the intersection of sound and moving-image. It is dedicated to the memory of Louis Benassi. Sign up to the Sonic Cinema newsletter here.
Special thanks to Daïchi Saïto, Ithaca College, Junko Takekawa (Japan Foundation), Daniel Turner (ICA), Steph Read (Watershed), and Bristol Experimental and Expanded Film.
Book tickets
Sat, 28 Nov 2026
Cinema 1
06:00 pm
Ticket information
- All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
- For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Access information
Cinema 1
- Both our Cinemas have step free access from The Mall and are accessible by ramp
- We have 1 wheelchair allocated space with a seat for a companion
- All seats are hard back, have a crushed velvet feel and they do not recline
- These are our seat size dimensions: W 42 x D 45 x H 52
- Arm rest either side of the seat dimensions: L 27 x W 7 x H 20
for the following requirements:
- We have unassigned seating. If you require a specific seat, please reserve this in advance
- Free for visitors where ticket prices are a barrier, please email
All films are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated, and start with a 10 min. curated selection of trailers.
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