Yamagata and Film
Special Partners: YOKOCINE D.I.A.INC., Yamagata Museum of Modern Architecture Committee, Faculty of Kansei Design, Hachinohe Institute of Technology
[Venues] F1 F3 Forum Yamagata 1, 3, Q1 Yamagata Creative City Center Q1 2-B, Former Yoshiike Clinic
Introducing films related to Yamagata, this program unpacks the rich and diverse film culture and history rooted in our prefecture, deepening our understanding of the region’s cinematic legacy.
- A Movie Capital 2025 Project
- The very first Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival took place in 1989. The 1991 documentary A Movie Capital captured its making, but one story was left on the editing floor—the spirited efforts of local volunteers, the “YIDFF Network,” who rallied behind the festival. Today, a legendary 4.5-hour rough cut featuring this theme is revived in high quality, thanks to the digital restoration of 13 hours of unused footage. Also premiering: Mirror Works ’89, a new film using enhanced Hi-8 video footage of Ogawa Shinsuke, Tamura Masaki, and colleagues at work in the AZ Central Public Hall, testing special effects techniques for additional filming. A post-screening talk and related exhibits at the former Yoshiike Clinic round out the program.
A Movie Capital
Dir: Iizuka Toshio / 1991 / 98 min
Mirror Works ’89: Yamagata Central Public Hall
Composed by Oe Yuta / 2025 / 28 min
Legendary Rough Cut Screening: Feb. 11, 1990
1991 / 276 min
- Taiwanese & Japanese Home Movies: Small Film, Vast Universe
- Co-organized by Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI)
Home movies are films taken of, by, and for one’s family. This screening presents small gauge films from Taiwan and Japan, where amateur movie makers have filmed their families with an affectionate gaze. This collection of invaluable footage reconstructs the former Yoshiike Clinic built in 1912, the first year of the Taisho era, and was taken by individuals such as a Taiwanese doctor during the Japanese colonial period, a Taiwanese photographer after the war, the head of a sake brewery in Sakata City, and the owner of a clock shop in Yamagata City. Through commentary during the screenings, this event unravels the hidden potential of home movies as a “tool for dialogue” that connects people across time and place.
Taiwanese Home Movies with commentary and talk by Su Ui-tiok / Approx. 90min
9.5mm film (1935–1943) by Ting Ray-yü , 8mm film (1960s) by Hsu Tsang-tse
Japanese Home Movies with commentary and talk by the film holder / Approx. 90min
8mm and 16mm films (1935–1956) by Sato Kyukichi, 8mm film (1955–1970) by Masuya Jiro
Return: Yamagata × Hualien 1960s with music by Lim Giong / In Cooperation with Hualien Film Center
- TV Documentaries produced by Local Yamagata TV station
- YBC
The Three Shonais—The Land of Dreams for Outsiders
Dekunobo—War and PTSD
YTS
“150 Years of Cherry Cultivation”: The Ruby-like Treasures That Connect with the Future
Do We Go Against the Times? The Two “Nohs” of Kurokawa
TUY
A Natural Look—900 Days with a “Gal” in a Wheelchair
In Love with Baseball! Another Story—1100 Days with the Seizan High School Girl’s Hardball Baseball Club
SAY
45 Years of Overtures—Challenges of the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra
The Ruptured Railway—The Resolution Needed to Restore the Yonesaka Line
- Screening: Kids Film Workshop
- Co-organized by ESTEM
Supported by Tohoku Regional Advancement Center
- Yamagata and Film Special Screening
- Madame soie Cévennes
Dir: Sato Koichi / JAPAN, FRANCE / 2025 / 87 min
The Former Yoshiike Clinic
An old-fashioned Western-style building located in the city center of Yamagata. It was completed in 1912 and was designed by architect Chujo Seiichiro, who also designed the Bunshokan (the former Yamagata prefectural office building). The 113-year-old venue will host the “Yamagata and Film” program and exhibition as well as other screenings, including From “Yamagata! A Special Program of Architecture Documentaries,” Discovered at the Former Yoshiike Clinic! Cityscapes Brought Back through Glass Dry Plate Photographs.