> Past Festivals

Yunnan Visual Forum in Yamagata

In Yunnan lie traces of history and the future of Chinese documentary! Sharing borders with Vietnam and Myanmar, Yunnan prides itself on a distinctive culture that opens directly to the world. This program, held in conjunction with the Tohoku University of Art & Design’s Tohoku Culture Research Center, will feature new and old documentaries from the region. The National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka will host a related event after YIDFF.

Guests:

Guo Jing—YUNFEST Director, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences
Zeng Qingxin—Visual anthropologist, Yunnan Nationalities University
He Yuan—Visual anthropologist, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences

• October 9 (Sun) Venue: Tohoku University of Art & Design

Part 1 Visual Anthropology in Yunnan

Amidst dramatic societal change, the traditional cultures of ethnic minorities in Yunnan are rapidly being lost. But filmmakers of ethnic descent are taking up the camera to record their cultures themselves. The production of ethnographic documentaries in the university curricula are said to be playing a vital role. In Part1, pre-Cultural Revolution documentaries of ethnic minorities and recent ethnographic films will be screened. We will contemplate the role of ethnographic filmmaking as a means of ensuring the survival of traditional culture.

9:00 New Initiatives in Visual Anthropology Venue: Tohoku University of Art & Design Library, AV Room
      Screenings of works by young scholars
13:30 Visual Anthropology Forum Venue: Tohoku University of Art & Design Library, Studio 144
      Screening of pre-Cultural Revolution documentaries of minority ethnic groups in Yunnan
      Discussion about filming ethnic culture
Hosts: Taguchi Hiromi (Professor, Tohoku University of Art & Design), Muguruma Yumi (Assistant Professor, Tohoku University of Art & Design)

• October 11 (Tue) Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall 4F, Sakura

Part 2 A New Wave of Yunnan Documentary

In March 2005, a groundbreaking film festival called “Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival” took place. Its Film Competition section featured fifteen select documentaries from across China; the Youth Forum showcased twenty-five rough and ready works that shone with fresh sensibility; and the Participatory Visual Education category introduced activist filmmaking in environmental conservation and ethnic education. Sixteen films from overseas were also screened, including Tsuchimoto Noriaki’s Minamata documentaries. Here in Yunnan, the energy of filmmakers and filmgoers alike combined to offer a glimpse of the future of Chinese documentary. Many of these fine works can be seen in Yamagata as part of the International Competition and New Asian Currents.

10:30 Screening of new works from Yunnan Venue: Yamagata Central Public Hall 4F
18:80 Musical performance from Yunnan: Ito Satoru Venue: Sakura
19:00 Report: Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival 2005  Symposium: “A New Wave of Chinese Documentary” Venue: Sakura