James Balmont
@jbalmont.bsky.social
*probably posting about ambient music and foreign films* Music supervisor @ Nower Studio Writer @ BBC Culture, Time Out, Dazed, AnOther etc. Musician @ Swim Deep
Excited to be back at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com on SEP 28th for a DOUBLE-BILL of obscure Y2K J-Horror works...! CRAZY LIPS: thenickel.co.uk/screening/667 GORE FROM OUTER SPACE: thenickel.co.uk/screening/668
CRAZY LIPS (28 Sept) | The Nickel
After her brother is accused of murdering four people, Satomi Kurahashi desperately searches for a way to prove his innocence. She turns to a mysterious psychic for help, but the investigation quickly...
thenickel.co.uk
Ahead of the world premiere of Korean-British horror production 'Nervous' at @frightfest.bsky.social this weekend, I caught up with director Abner Pastoll and Bong Joon-ho muse Ko Asung (The Host/Snowpiercer) for @anothermag.com www.anothermag.com/design-livin...
Nervous: A Nerve-Shredding Horror Haunted by Korean Cinema’s Old New Wave
Director Abner Pastoll and Ko Asung – star of Bong Joon Ho classics The Host and Snowpiercer – on the making of their fraught psychological thriller, which has its world premiere at FrightFest this we...
anothermag.com
This week, for @anothermag.com, I caught up with architect and author Naomi Pollock to discuss the "vanished" capsule hotels, sci-fi petrol stations, and utopian gymnasiums of her @thamesandhudson.bsky.social coffee table book 'Vanishing Japan': www.anothermag.com/design-livin...
Five Vanished Architectural Marvels from 20th Century Japan
A new book from Thames & Hudson remembers some of Japan’s most remarkable modern buildings, whose extraordinary designs couldn’t defy their inevitable extinction in the face of frequent natural and ma...
anothermag.com
Excited to be back at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com on SEP 28th for a DOUBLE-BILL of obscure Y2K J-Horror works...! CRAZY LIPS: thenickel.co.uk/screening/667 GORE FROM OUTER SPACE: thenickel.co.uk/screening/668
CRAZY LIPS (28 Sept) | The Nickel
After her brother is accused of murdering four people, Satomi Kurahashi desperately searches for a way to prove his innocence. She turns to a mysterious psychic for help, but the investigation quickly...
thenickel.co.uk
Thanks for another great night at the most phantasmagoric cinema around! I’ll be back again to introduce some more @thirdwindowfilms.com gems at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social in September…
GEMINI sold out, still some tickets left for KILLING tonight!!
James Balmont@jbalmont.bsky.social · 4w agoLast call for these two under-seen Shinya Tsukamoto highlights! TUESDAY, 4th AUG at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social, with introductions by myself, and in conjunction with @thirdwindowfilms.com: 18:00 GEMINI thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 Don’t miss ‘em!
GEMINI sold out, still some tickets left for KILLING tonight!!
James Balmont@jbalmont.bsky.social · 4w agoLast call for these two under-seen Shinya Tsukamoto highlights! TUESDAY, 4th AUG at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social, with introductions by myself, and in conjunction with @thirdwindowfilms.com: 18:00 GEMINI thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 Don’t miss ‘em!
Last call for these two under-seen Shinya Tsukamoto highlights! TUESDAY, 4th AUG at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social, with introductions by myself, and in conjunction with @thirdwindowfilms.com: 18:00 GEMINI thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 Don’t miss ‘em!
Last call for these two under-seen Shinya Tsukamoto highlights! TUESDAY, 4th AUG at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social, with introductions by myself, and in conjunction with @thirdwindowfilms.com: 18:00 GEMINI thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 Don’t miss ‘em!
Tuesday, 4th August: i'll be introducing 2x lesser-seen Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: Iron Man) CLASSICS at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com. 18:00 GEMINI >> thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING >> thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 COME THRU!
Tuesday, 4th August: i'll be introducing 2x lesser-seen Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: Iron Man) CLASSICS at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com. 18:00 GEMINI >> thenickel.co.uk/screening/559 20:15 KILLING >> thenickel.co.uk/screening/558 COME THRU!
I'm back at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social on Aug 4th to introduce two of my favourite Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: Iron Man) films w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com! Come see GEMINI and KILLING: thenickel.co.uk
Tons of great Japanese films this August in London's coolest new hangout The Nickel Cinema. Aug 4 - Shinya Tsukamoto double bill of GEMINI + KILLING hosted @jbalmont.bsky.social Aug 27 - KAMIKAZE GIRLS / MERMAID LEGEND Aug 30 - LOVE EXPOSURE thenickel.co.uk
This wicked new Chusei Sone double-bill from @thirdwindowfilms.com - Blow the Night & Scars of the Sun - features my new video essay on juvenile delinquency, biker gangs and punk music in '80s Japan on disc 1. Had such a great time working on this! Out July 27th: thirdwindowfilms.com/films/scars-...
This wicked new Chusei Sone double-bill from @thirdwindowfilms.com - Blow the Night & Scars of the Sun - features my new video essay on juvenile delinquency, biker gangs and punk music in '80s Japan on disc 1. Had such a great time working on this! Out July 27th: thirdwindowfilms.com/films/scars-...
I'm back at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social on Aug 4th to introduce two of my favourite Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: Iron Man) films w/ @thirdwindowfilms.com! Come see GEMINI and KILLING: thenickel.co.uk
Wow, what a great reminder to revisit the classic that is 'Amores Perros' for first time since my university Film Studies course...! Thanks MUBI, see you on July 10th!
What a privilege to be invited to appear on @nhk-news.bsky.social (the Japanese BBC) this month to discuss the newfound popularity of Masayoshi Takanaka in the West and the wider explosion of interest in '70s and '80s Japanese pop music! 🎸 Check out the full featurette via NHK!
What a privilege to be invited to appear on @nhk-news.bsky.social (the Japanese BBC) this month to discuss the newfound popularity of Masayoshi Takanaka in the West and the wider explosion of interest in '70s and '80s Japanese pop music! 🎸 Check out the full featurette via NHK!
Our new Swim Deep album 'Hum' is out this weekend! Recommended in @theguardian.com today; 9/10 - NME; 9/10 - @indieisnotagenre.com; 8/10 - @readdork.com; Go stream/buy it!
Our new Swim Deep album 'Hum' is out this weekend! Recommended in @theguardian.com today; 9/10 - NME; 9/10 - @indieisnotagenre.com; 8/10 - @readdork.com; Go stream/buy it!
A few weeks ago at Far East Film Festival in Italy, I had the pleasure of interviewing Japan's greatest living actor, Koji Yakusho, about everything from Cure and Shall We Dance to 13 Assassins and Perfect Days. Read the whole thing over at @mubinotebook! mubi.com/en/notebook/...
Always Proceed and Go Forward: Koji Yakusho Reflects on His Career at 70
The iconic Japanese actor delves into his origins, breakthrough in “Shall We Dance?” and work with auteurs ranging from Kurosawa to Wenders.
mubi.com
To mark the opening of Kyotographie's new photography exhibition at Japan House, I interviewed "grandaddy of Japanese photography" Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai about works from the ashes of Hiroshima to the volcanic cemeteries of Hawaii www.anothermag.com/art-photogra... @anothermag.com
anothermag.com
A few weeks ago at Far East Film Festival in Italy, I had the pleasure of interviewing Japan's greatest living actor, Koji Yakusho, about everything from Cure and Shall We Dance to 13 Assassins and Perfect Days. Read the whole thing over at @mubinotebook! mubi.com/en/notebook/...
Always Proceed and Go Forward: Koji Yakusho Reflects on His Career at 70
The iconic Japanese actor delves into his origins, breakthrough in “Shall We Dance?” and work with auteurs ranging from Kurosawa to Wenders.
mubi.com
To mark the opening of Kyotographie's new photography exhibition at Japan House, I interviewed "grandaddy of Japanese photography" Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai about works from the ashes of Hiroshima to the volcanic cemeteries of Hawaii www.anothermag.com/art-photogra... @anothermag.com
anothermag.com
NR: Chusei Sone Double-Bill of SCARS OF THE SUN 太陽のきずあと BLOW THE NIGHT 夜をぶっとばせ First release of either film outside of Japan! Out July 27 - Order @terracottadist.bsky.social shop.terracottadistribution.com/products/sca... @jaspersharp.bsky.social @jbalmont.bsky.social @balanescumiriam.bsky.social
TONIGHT! 9 tickets left
James Balmont@jbalmont.bsky.social · 4mo agoCan’t wait to screen one of my favourite opening shots of all-time at @thenickelcinema.bsky.social next week! Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Spring)’s PORNOSTAR plays at 18:00 on Monday, May 18th via @thirdwindowfilms.com. Tix: thenickel.co.uk/screening/351
The UK’s grassroots music venues are facing major challenges in 2026. Here are 42 spaces well worth your support - as chosen by myself for Time Out with the help of @slowdiveofficial.bsky.social, Bombay Bicycle Club, @cocteauofficial.bsky.social, Arlo Parks and more. www.timeout.com/uk/music/the...
The UK’s 42 greatest independent music venues
The best British indie venues, chosen by a musician who’s played ’em all.
timeout.com
Double-bill of (very different) Japanese youth films on May 18th in London @thenickelcinema.bsky.social with Toshiaki Toyoda's PORNOSTAR and Nobuhiko Obayashi's HIS MOTORBIKE, HER ISLAND playing back to back in a night hosted @jbalmont.bsky.social thenickel.co.uk
