National / Media | MEDIA MIX Aug 22, 2020
Political documentaries in Japan struggle to inspire
by Philip Brasor
Japanese documentaries analyze entrenched political power with largely unsurprising results.
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Jun 8, 2019
Documentary juxtaposes both sides of contentious debate on 'comfort women'
by Philip Brasor
On May 30, three people held a news conference in Tokyo to speak out against a documentary titled "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue," which focuses on the rhetorical battle over the women who sexually serviced Japanese soldiers before and during ...
Entertainment News Feb 19, 2018
Japanese director's pro-whaling documentary wins award at London film festival
A 2015 documentary on local supporters of Japan’s traditions of whaling and dolphin-hunting won an international film festival award Saturday in London.
People | WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN? Sep 16, 2017
Documentary filmmaker Megumi Sasaki learns to live in the moment in New York
by Kaori Shoji
For a long time Megumi Sasaki felt that something did not quite fit. ...
Film | Wide Angle Nov 16, 2016
'Nuclear Nation' offers a long, hard look at Fukushima refugees' plight
by Kaori Shoji
"Nuclear Nation 2016" re-examines the situation facing Fukushima refugees forced to abandon their homes and evacuate from their hometowns after the Fukushima disaster.
National Feb 20, 2016
Documentary 'Behind "The Cove"' aims to promote multisided understanding of Japanese whaling
by Yoshino Matsui
A Japanese woman hopes a documentary she has made will help opponents of Japan's hunting of whales and dolphins acquire a better understanding of the practice. "Japanese have failed to argue against the criticism, mostly from the West, because silence is a virtue in Japan ...
Music Aug 5, 2015
Why the world's largest record label wants to be a movie studio
by Anousha Sakoui
Amy Winehouse's 9-year-old album "Back to Black" is outselling newer records from Beyonce, Adele and Pitbull, buoyed by critical praise for the documentary about the singer's sudden rise and fall. "Amy" has grossed more than $11 million worldwide since its July 3 release, according to ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT May 13, 2015
Filmmakers Ash and Kamanaka discuss radiation, secrets and lives
Two filmmakers who have tackled the Fukushima issue — American and Japanese, storyteller and activist — discuss their work and their films, and consider the notion of "being a 'foreign' filmmaker."
Business Sep 15, 2013
'Freddy vs. Jason' maker documents new horror: Fed's role in meltdown
by Ylan Q. Mui
Flashback to Christmas 2002. America was recovering from the twin shocks of the tech bubble crash and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The stock market was rising, real estate was heating up and optimism was rebounding. And then there was Jim Bruce, surfing ...
Entertainment News Sep 11, 2013
Saul Landau, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work gave an unprecedented glimpse into Fidel Castro's Cuba, and who co-wrote a riveting account of a Washington assassination linked to Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet, died Sept. 9 at his home in Alameda, California. He was ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 9, 2013
Filmmaker revisits the children of Fukushima's 'Grey Zone'
by Louise George Kittaka
Ian Thomas Ash has won acclaim and awards at film festivals around the world for "A2-B-C," the second of a pair of documentaries about children living in towns a stone's throw from Fukushima No. 1.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Jul 8, 2013
Driven by regret over neighbor's death, first-time filmmaker declares war on suicide
by Richard Solomon
Rene Duignan is passionate about life — so much so that he made an award-winning film about it. Yet Duignan, 42, is not a professional filmmaker; he's an Irish economist working for the European Union delegation to Japan. The documentary, titled "Saving 10,000 — ...