Yes, I Am Here
(Koko ni orunjakee)
JAPAN/ 2010 / Japanese / Color / DVCAM / 97 min
Director: Shimonobo Shuko
Photograhy: Shimonobo Shuko, Kanki Ryosuke, Okazaki Mayumi
Editing: Okazaki Mayumi
Music: Otani Takashi, Takatama Kaname
Production Company: Alternative Media Terere
www.terere.jp/kokonioru.htm
Sasaki Chizuko was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after birth. She now lives on her own with 24-hour nursing assistance, and goes out every day in blue jeans and pink hair. As Chizuko struggles with the after-effects of a forced sterilization operation she received in her 20s, she passes the days with her cat and helpers. A humorous essay of Chizuko’s is interwoven, drawing for us her honest image, one influenced and loved by the caregivers who have shared in her life.
[Director’s Statement] Chizuko is a woman past 60 who has dyed her hair pink. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she was subjected to forced sterilization surgery, but in spite of her pain she has embraced life with limitless freedom and abandon. Even as her physical condition has declined and as she has lost her ability to move freely, she still has things she wants to accomplish in life. The film is a product of my captivation with this woman.
Shimonobo Shuko
Born in 1950. Studied video at the Women’s School. Her films include Women Who Chose Divorce Part II: Sex (1996, YIDFF 1999, Jeonju International Film Festival 2000) and I Don’t Want You to Forget Me (Seoul International Women’s Film Festival 2004, Taiwan Women’s Film Festival). |
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