The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi and 27 Years without Images

Anabasis – The name given to wandering, circuitous homeward journeys.

Developed in collaboration with legendary filmmaker Adachi Masao, The Anabasis… re-purposes Adachi’s theory of fûkeiron to explore the history of the Japanese Red Army, their exile in Beirut and ultimately their forced return to Japan.

Shot in glorious Super 8mm, Baudelaire traces the disjointed stories and entangled recollections of Fusako Shinegobu, leader and founder of the JRA; her daughter, May; and Adachi Masao, filmmaker-turned-revolutionary fighter. Panoramas of Tokyo and Beirut merge with archival footage, TV clips and film excerpts to create a beautiful and poignant exploration of the slippages between history, memory, politics and cinema.