japanese

YIDFF ’99

October 19–25

YIDFF ’99 Programs

  • International Competition: 14 outstanding films were screened, selected from entries from around the world.
  • Jurors’ Films: 5 films were screened.
  • New Asian Currents: Program featuring emerging Asian documentarists. 48 titles were screened. 2 additional Special Programs took place: “Filming-Screening-Changing / Videoactivism in Japan and Korea” and “Case Study: Full Shot (Taiwan) and Cinema Juku (Japan) / Spreading the Filmmaking Movement”.
  • Filming-Screening-Changing / Video Activism in Japan and Korea: An introduction of independent media activism in Japan and Korea. 17 video works dealing with common social issues were presented side-by-side by activists from both countries.
  • Case Study: Full Shot (Taiwan) and Cinema Juku (Japan) / Spreading the Filmmaking Movement: Taiwanese documentarist Wu Yii-feng and his production group Full Shot Communication Foundation, and Japanese filmmaker Hara Kazuo’s Cinema Juku school lead stimulating discussions about the documentary filmmaking movements in each respective country today. 9 films and videos were screened.
  • World Special Program: Diverse titles representing the broad spectrum of documentary today. 23 documentaries from around the world were screened.
  • Japanese Panorama: A colorful spread of the newest Japanese documentaries. 8 titles were screened.
  • Ogawa Productions Program: 5 films by and about Ogawa Productions were screened.
  • Yanagisawa Hisao Retrospective: A tribute to the documentary filmmaker Yanagisawa Hisao, who passed away in June 1999. 17 films were screened.
  • A Joris Ivens Retrospective: A program of representative works by the Dutch documentarist Joris Ivens, who rushed through the turbulent 20th century and left an important imprint on documentary film history. Alongside lectures and symposiums, 31 films were screened.
  • YIDFF Network Special Screenings: 5 titles were screened. Coordinated by Yamagata’s citizen volunteer group, YIDFF Network.
  • Japanese Classic Films: 6 classic Japanese feature films were screened.

Official Catalog


--YIDFF ’99 Award Recipients

Prizes for the International Competition
The Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize):
Images of the Absence  Dir: German Kral / GERMANY

The Mayor’s Prize (Prize of Excellence):
Belfast, Maine  Dir: Frederick Wiseman / USA

Special Prize of Jury:
The Underground Orchestra  Dir: Heddy Honigmann / THE NETHERLANDS

Runner-up Prize:
Sweep It Up, Swig It Down  Dir: Gerd Kroske / GERMANY
Happy Birthday, Mr. Mograbi  Dir: Avi Mograbi / ISRAEL, FRANCE

New Asian Currents Awards
Ogawa Shinsuke Prize:
Swimming on the Highway  Dir: Wu Yao-tung / TAIWAN

Awards of Excellence:
Beijing Cotton-Fluffer  Dir: Zhu Chuan-ming / CHINA
Old Men  Dir: Lina Yang Tian-yi / CHINA

Special Mentions:
Made in the Philippines . . . To Fukuoka with Love  Dir: Ditsi Carolino, Sadhana Buxani / PHILIPPINES
Annyong-Kimchi  Dir: Matsue Tetsuaki / JAPAN

Citizens’ Prize
Living Amongst Lions  Dir: Sigve Endresen / NORWAY

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FIPRESCI Prize
Divorce Iranian Style  Dir: Kim Longinotto, Ziba Mir-Hosseini / UK, IRAN

Special Mention:
The New God  Dir: Tsuchiya Yutaka / JAPAN

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NETPAC Award
White  Dir: Hirano Katsuyuki / JAPAN

Special Mentions:
Annyong-Kimchi  Dir: Matsue Tetsuaki / JAPAN
I Love (080)  Dir: Yang Li-zhou / TAIWAN

--YIDFF ’99 Facts and Figures

Total Films Shown: 188
Attendance: 20,600