> Past Festivals

Dramatic Science! Yamagata Science Theater

Come one! Come all! The wonders of nature, the mechanisms of life, and the infinite universe . . . Enjoy the dramatic delights of science films in this special program! Enchanted and lush images, breathtaking spectacle, and emotional drama! Welcome to the amazing world of “science (non)fiction,” offering excitement for children and adults alike!

Venues: Forum 4

A	Science as an Art: The Amusing World of Jean Painlevé

Jean Painlevé (1902–1989) made over 200 science films in France. The beautiful and enjoyable natural world is portrayed in the belief that “Science is Fiction”!

The Sea Horse 1934
The Fourth Dimension 1937
The Vampire 1939-45
Sea Urchins 1954
Shrimp Stories 1964
The Love Life of the Octopus 1965
Acera, or the Witches’ Dance 1972
Liquid Crystals 1978

B	Palpable Stirrings of Science: A Selection of “Culture Films” from the German UFA

UFA created superior Kulturfilm and influenced filmmakers and cultural figures all over the world. This program offers science films that were imported by Japan before the Second World War.

Green Drifters 1933
Mysteries of Life 1937
Predators of the Night 1936
Roentgen Rays 1937
Cold, Colder, Coldest 1937

C	Cosmologist of Life: 100 Years of Higuchi Genichiro

A memorial feature for Director Higuchi Genichiro, who was born in Tendo town, Yamagata Prefecture, and made films into his 90s. Traces the career of the “researching filmmaker” who pursued the mysteries of evolution via “moving pictures”!

Nagasaki Children 1949
Silent Battle: The Life of the Pine Moth 1955
Secret in the Hive 1962
The Life History of Slime Molds 1997

D	Japanese Masterpiece Selection 1: Watch! Learn! Understand!

Just like the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” seeing is understanding with this program.

Science Graffiti 1984 / Horikoshi Kei
The World of the Vacuum 1953 / Nakamura Rinko
The Balance of Nature 1972 / Nunomura Tatsuru
The World of Extreme Conditions 1987 / Ogawa Hirotaka

E	Japanese Masterpiece Selection 2: Beauty of Nature

Program that admires beautiful forms created by nature, such as snow crystals, cell division, etc.

Snow Crystals 1939 / Yoshino Keiji
The Birth of Frogs 1955 / Yoshida Rokuro
Marine Snow: The Origin of Oil 1960 / Noda Shinkichi, Onuma Tetsuro
The Bone II 1986 / Kobayashi Yonesaku, Kaneko Fumio
A Grain of Barley 1962 / Matsukawa Yasuo

F	Japanese Masterpiece Selection 3: Recoring Creatures

Cameras and their patient operators unlock the unknown lives of animals and insects!

Life of a Cicada 1936 / Ota Nikichi
One Day at the Tidelands 1940 / Shimomura Kenji
The Cabbage Butterfly 1968 / Haneda Sumiko
The Wisdom of the Orangutan 1960 / Fujiwara Tomoko, Yamaguchi Junko

G	Japanese Masterpiece Selection 4: Space Mission!

Tracing 70 years of the bid by the scientific community & film world of Japan to see “the world invisible to the naked eye.”

The Black Sun 1936 / Miki Shigeru
Pencil Rockets and Baby Rockets 1955 / Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo (IIS)
The Road to X-Ray Astronomy 1968 / Yabe Masao
A Radio Telescope Bigger than the Earth 2005 / Makiguchi Mitsuro

H	Japanese Masterpiece Selection 5: Science in Our Daily Lives

Scientific breakthroughs are also in our daily lives! This program will give you knowledge you didn’t know you didn’t have.

Lubricating Oil 1960 / Takeuchi Shinji
Destruction 1973 / Sadamura Takeshi
Things and Their Weight 1969 / Goto Ichiro
The Stomach: The Elaborate Mechanism of Digestion 2006 / Takeda Junichiro, Tamai Jun