China to Japan—Japanese Woman with Chinese Mother Tongue
(Chugoku Nihon watashi no kuni)
JAPAN / 2013 / Japanese, Chinese / Color / Blu-ray / 108 min
Director, Editing: Chitose Chihiro
Producers: Suzuki Wataru, Sawada Kei
Photography: Shiono Tetsuya, Chitose Chihiro
Pre-translation: Son Ru
Translation: Naka Iko, Jinda Yuko, Minami Ryoko
Sound Editor: Ishidera Kenichi
Production Company, World Sales: Pal Entertainments
Yamada Shizuka (59) belongs to the second-generation of Japanese who were displaced by the war and left in China. She returned to Japan 20 years ago, a country that was foreign to her, and raised her half-brother’s children all by herself. A serious illness eventually drives her back to Dalian, China, with her two children. The camera follows her on a journey in search of her earlier life and what led her to become a courageous mother.
Chitose Chihiro
After graduating from university, Chitose Chihiro directed In the Evening (1995), which was awarded the Grand Prize at Mito Short Film Festival. He joined "Cinema Juku,” a school for documentary filmmaking established by Hara Kazuo. He was an assistant director for films by Shinohara Tetsuo and Kuroki Kazuo.
Interview