| 2025-01-23 | | | New Year’s Greetings |
Greetings for a Happy New Year from Yamagata, where we are seeing less snow than usual.
The year has just begun, but conflicts continue to ravage the world, with the toll of victims and displaced people increasing. Those of us who manage to live our daily lives are pressured by the threat of natural disasters caused by climate change and the high cost of living. Despite the harsh backdrop, we are encouraged to see people moving forward strongly, working towards a brighter future, as seen from the many new films emerging. I hope that this year, again, you will encounter many excellent films and enrich your time laughing, crying, and being inspired.
This year ushers in the next edition of the biennial Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. We have been receiving a steady stream of films of a wide variety, since the call for entries which began in September met its first deadline in December. The final deadline will be in spring, and preparations for the festival will then begin to intensify.
Please look forward to the 19th edition of our festival in October.