Prokino

Alternate Name:

Proletarian Film League of Japan, The; Nihon Puroretaria Eiga Dōmei; 日本プロレタリア映画同盟; Japana Prolet-Kino Unio (Esperanto)

Year Founded:

1929

Year Disolved:

1934

Preceded By:

Proletarian Film Federation of Japan (Nihon Puroretaria Eiga Renmei; 日本プロレタリア映画連盟, 1928)

Location:

Tokyo, Japan

Film Formats:

9.5mm, 16mm, 35mm

Publication/Newsletter:

Shinkō eiga (Rising film, 新興映画, 1929–1930); Puroretaria eiga (Proletarian film, , 1930–1931, 1933).

Resources:

The first leftwing filmmaking group to make small gauge films for revolutionary purposes.

Prokino was preceeded by the Proletarian Film Federation of Japan (Nihon Puroretaria Eiga Renmei; 日本プロレタリア映画連盟, 1928) and the Trunk Theater (Toranku Gekijō, トランク劇場, 1926–1927) of Puroren (Japan Proletarian Literary Arts League, Nihon Puroretaria Bungei Renmei, 日本プロレタリア文芸連盟). The Trunk Theater was renamed the Proletarian Theater (Puroretaria Gekijō, プロレタリア劇場) in 1927 and merged with Zen’ei Gekijō (Vanguard Theater, 前衛劇場, 1927–1928) to become the Sayoku Gekijō (Leftwing Theater, 左翼劇場, 1928–1934).

Prokino's publications included: Shinkō eiga (Rising film, 新興映画, 1929–1930); Puroretaria eiga (Proletarian film, , 1930–1931, 1933); Purokino (Prokino, プロキノ, 1932, 1934); Eiga kurabu (Film club; 映画クラブ, 1931–1933); Eiga totsugekitai (Film shock troops, 1933).

Associated filmmakers included: Sasa Genjū (佐々元十), Iwasaki Akira (岩崎昶), Namiki Shinsaku (並木晋作, real name Iwasaki Tarō), Ueda Isamu (上田勇), Atsugi Taka (厚木たか), Komori Shizuo (小森静男), Nōtō Setsuo (能登節雄), Uemura Shūkichi (上村修吉, real name Uemura Shū). Tokyo (main branch), Kyoto, Hyogo, Kochi, Osaka, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamagata, Kanezawa, Okuyama, Yamanashi, and Sapporo, Japan.