A Reunion of Taiwan and Japanese Filmmakers:
12 Years Later
Young documentarians from Japan and Taiwan who came together at New Asian Currents in 1999 return to their ‘hometown’ of Yamagata for the first time in 12 years. This program screens old and new works from the 10 filmmakers, who will also reveal the paths they have each taken over the past 12 years. As well as nostalgic reminiscences, perhaps this reunion will provide another opportunity for them to contemplate their future as filmmakers.
Venues: Forum 3,4
 Flyer download (PDF, 1.7MB) |
YIDFF ’99 was a monumental year for Taiwanese documentary filmmaking. Close to 30 guests made the journey from Taiwan, an unprecedented number and quality of Taiwanese films were screened, and the country’s momentum left an indelible impression on the documentary film-making world. The Taiwanese documentarians, who had gone through a major 6.8-magnitude earthquake at the center of their country only a month prior to coming to Japan, eagerly participated in discussions with festival attendees about the meaning and value of documenting reality through film. On the final day, Wu Yao-tung’s Swimming on the Highway was awarded the Ogawa Shinsuke Prize, sealing an unforgettable festival for Taiwanese documentary. That same year in New Asian Currents, a group of filmmakers with wildly differing styles—Tsuchiya Yutaka, Matsue Tetsuaki, Kobayashi Shigeru, and Terashima Mari—presented their first feature-length documentaries. 12 years after the likes of The New God and Annyong Kimchi in 2011 and having gone through a full cycle of the zodiac, what kind of careers have each of them forged? From Japan, we present Prisoners, Live Tape, Chokora!, and Dark Märchen Show. From Taiwan, we screen recent works following subjects such as the survivors of a disastrous typhoon, the lives of the members of a Taiwanese opera company, an elderly troupe of cheerleaders, and more.
After School, Bicycles, Chokora! • Oct. 10 F3
Funny Competition Between Labor and Management: You Have Me in You, A Gift for Father’s Day—The Tragedy of Hsiaolin Village • Oct. 10 F4 | The New God, Prisoners • Oct. 10 F4
Grandma’s Hairpin • Oct. 11 F3 | Annyong Kimchi, Live Tape • Oct. 11 F3
I Love (080), Young at Heart: Grandma Cheerleaders • Oct. 11 F3 | Swimming on the Highway, The Stages • Oct. 11 F3
Princess Plum P-udding, Dark Märchen Show!! • Oct. 12 F3 | Boys for Beauty, Scars on Memory • Oct. 12 F3