Japanese

Other Screenings


Special Invitation Films

Yano Kazuyuki, the first YIDFF Tokyo office director, passed away in 2024. Yano laid the foundations for the festival alongside the late filmmaker Ogawa Shinsuke and other collaborators, and in his memory the festival will screen Kidlat Tahimik’s Why Is Yellow Middle of Rainbow? (1994), which was completed through repeated screenings at YIDFF ’89–’93 and dedicated to Ogawa. Additionally, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Ogawa’s birth, there will be a screening of Narita: Heta Village (1973), which also served as the catalyst for Ogawa Productions move to Yamagata. The closing screening will be Voices of the Silenced (2025), co-directed by Park Soo-nam and Park Maeui. This film weaves together the untold stories of Korean victims of the atomic bomb, Korean former military personnel from the Battle of Okinawa, and women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military, based on 16mm footage filmed over approximately forty years, and was made in collaboration with the director’s daughter, a member of the post-war generation.
* Exhibitions related to Yano Kazuyuki and Ogawa Shinsuke will be held at the Former Yoshiike Clinic.

Why Is Yellow Middle of Rainbow?  Dir: Kidlat Tahimik / 1994 / 175 min
Narita: Heta Village  Dir: Ogawa Shinsuke / 1973 / 146 min
and more

Closing Film
The Voices of the Silenced  Dirs: Park Soo-nam, Park Maeui / 2025 / 148 min


YIDFF Classics on Digital
Yamagata Documentary Film Library Collection Digitization Project

Supported by Nagase Film Foundation

[Venues] CL Yamagata Citizens’ Hall (Large Hall) and more

Route One/USA  Dir: Robert Kramer / FRANCE / 1989 / 255 min / YIDFF ’89 International Competition The Mayor’s Prize
Time Has No Name  Dir: Stefan Jarl / SWEDEN / 1989 / 61 min / YIDFF ’89 International Competition Special Prize

 


Yamagata Autumn Arts Festival 2025
Yamagata Creative Cities International Conference 2025

Celebrating UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage:
Cinematic Heritage in Our Communities

Presented by Yamagata City, Yamagata Creative City Promotion Council, Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (NPO)
In cooperation with Yamagata Autumn and Winter Arts Festival Committee

[Venue] Q1 Yamagata Creative City Center Q1 2-C

An expert from Busan, a UNESCO Creative City of Film in South Korea, will join us to reflect on the meaning of filmpreservation in local communities.

Related Screening
[Venue] F1 Forum Yamagata 1
Film, the Living Record of Our Memory  Dir: Inés Toharia Terán / CANADA, SPAIN / 2021 / 120 min

 


YIDFF Network Special Screening

The YIDFF Network is a volunteer group that was brought together for the inaugural YIDFF in 1989 at the initiative of filmmaker Ogawa Shinsuke. Its wide range of activities includes organizing Friday Theater, a series of screenings for the general public; participation in the selection of films for the festival; and publication activities. In addition, the YIDFF Network Special Screening introduce films reflecting the volunteers’ own perspectives.

Tamashii no kiseki  Dir: Kobayashi Shigeru / 2025 / 97 min