Japanese

AM/NESIA: Forgotten “Archipelagos” of Oceania


October 11–15   [Venue] Yamagata Citizens’ Hall (Small Hall)

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The vast Pacific Islands region, also known as Oceania, is a blue “continent” of water—the largest inhabited place on earth; yet it is among the most colonized and militarized areas on the planet, in the intersection of American and Japanese empires from the twentieth century to the present. AM/NESIA is a program of selected films that engage with important Lands, Bodies, and Crossings that have been silenced, forgotten, and marginalized between Japan and the United States. Films in the “Lands” selections of AM/NESIA engage, for instance, with Pacific Islander resistance to nuclear testing and climate change in ancestral sites where identity is interwoven with land. In “Bodies” we focus on how people’s identities and bodies have been marginalized, erased, or transformed by colonialism in Oceania—such as with changing understandings of indigenous gender ideologies, and the high rates of incarceration or military recruitment of Pacific Islander men. Finally, in “Crossings,” we explore the theme of forgotten migrations, cultural exchange, and in-betweenness in Oceania, particularly between the Japanese archipelago and the Pacific Islands. Critically exploring prewar propaganda films, testimonies of former settlers and soldiers, ambivalent nationalities, and circuits of hula dancing, we remember the routes and roots that historically have connected Japan with its Pacific neighborhood.


For production sites in this program, such as Hawaiʻi and Guåhan (Guam), we have indicated colonized indigenous Pacific island territories by listing the occupying nation in brackets [ ] next to the name of the island or archipelago.

<Crossings>
Lifeline of The Sea  JAPAN / 1933 / 72 min   In cooperation with National Film Archive of Japan   Oct. 11 10:30
Between Tides  Dir: Masa Fox / JAPAN, USA / 2018 / 87 min   Oct. 11 14:30

Tokyo Hula  Dir: Lisette Marie Flanary / HAWAIʻI [USA] / 2019 / 72 min   Oct. 14 16:25

<Lands>
Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1  Dir: Adam Jonas Horowitz / MARSHALL ISLANDS, USA / 2011 / 87 min   Oct. 13 10:00

Shorts by Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner
Dear Matafele Peinam  Dirs: Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Natalia Vega-Berry / MARSHALL ISLANDS, HAWAIʻI [USA], USA / 2014 / 3 min
Islands Dropped From A Basket  Dirs: Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Russell Thoulag, Yu Suenaga / MARSHALL ISLANDS, USA / 2017 / 5 min
Anointed  Dirs: Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Dan Lin / MARSHALL ISLANDS, USA / 2018 / 6 min
Rise: From One Island to Another  Dirs: Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Dan Lin / MARSHALL ISLANDS, KALAALIT NUNAAT (GREENLAND) [DENMARK], USA / 2018 / 7 min
+ Poetry Reading & Talk         Oct. 13 12:20

Anote’s Ark  Dir: Matthier Rytz / KIRIBATI, CANADA / 2018 / 77 min   Oct. 15 10:30

<Bodies>
Senso Daughters -International Version-  Dir: Sekiguchi Noriko / AUSTRALIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, JAPAN / 1990 / 54 min   Oct. 11 12:30

Island Soldier  Dir: Nathan Fitch / FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, USA / 2017 / 85 min   Oct. 12 10:00
Out of State  Dir: Ciara Lacy / HAWAIʻI [USA] / 2017 / 82 min   Oct. 12 12:30

Kumu Hina  Dirs: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson / HAWAIʻI [USA] / 2014 / 77 min   Oct. 14 14:15


REEF REELS 1 (Shorts) + Talk Session “Swimming Lessons: Learning Pacific History with a Camera”
Praise Song for Oceania  Dir: Justyn Ah Chong / HAWAIʻI [USA] / 2017 / 5 min
Magellan Doesn’t Live Here  Dir: Mariquita Davis / GUÅHAN (GUAM) [USA] / 2017 / 21 min
POW! WOW! Guam: Naturel  Dirs: Kyle Perron, Nico Serneo / GUÅHAN (GUAM) [USA] / 2017 / 2 min
I Matai “The Dead”  Dirs: Kyle Perron, Nico Serneo / GUÅHAN (GUAM) [USA] / 2016 / 10 min
Nana’s Words  Dir: Leonard “Leni” Leon / GUÅHAN (GUAM) [USA] / 2012 / 7 min
Zori  Dirs: Jack Niedenthal, Suzanne Chutaro / MARSHALL ISLANDS / 2013 / 9 min   Oct. 11 17:00

REEF REELS 2 (Shorts) + Talk
Lady Eva  Dir: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson / TONGA, USA / 2017 / 11 min
TAMATOA  Dir, Photography: Tanu Gago / AOTEAROA [NEW ZEALAND] / 2017 / 8 min
APPARATUS  Artist: Tanu Gago / AOTEAROA [NEW ZEALAND] / 2018 / 19 min
FĀGOGO  Artist: Pati Solomona Tyrell / AOTEAROA [NEW ZEALAND] / 2016 / 9 min   Oct. 14 18:45

Guests
Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner (Poet, Artist)
Lisette Marie Flanary (Filmmaker)