NEWSWORTHY
'The Shoot Must Go On': Masayoshi Sukita captures some of rock music's most iconic figures
Even if you don't recognize the name, you probably know his shots. Photographer Masayoshi Sukita has captured images of rock gods and movie stars that deserve that most overused of epithets: iconic. There's Marc Bolan, face creased in orgasmic bliss and hair billowing behind him ...
Speaking as a Japanese person, it's a bit disheartening to see the words "samurai" and "idiot" in the same sentence. Filmmaker Hyoe Yamamoto's documentary "Samurai and Idiots: The Olympus Affair" not only pairs the two, it shows the lack of logic and wisdom behind ...
Documentary to chronicle Kumamoto village's travails recovering from 2016 quakes
A filmmaker is working on a documentary about people fighting to rebuild their community following the powerful earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture two years ago. "I want to pass on to future generations the efforts by the local people who are struggling to move forward," says ...
Documentary takes a look at friendship in the aftermath of wrongful imprisonment
Kim Sung-woong, a documentary film director, says he listened with awe as he heard remarks by a man who was falsely accused in a high-profile murder case. The previously condemned man had an air of positivity that was surprising considering he'd spent a good chunk ...
'Tremorings of Hope': The aftershocks linger in a town devastated by 2011 disaster
After the Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011, dozens of documentary filmmakers headed north to the devastated Tohoku region, specifically the hard-hit coastal areas of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures. One filmmaker, however, had already been filming there ...
Kazuo Hara returns to form as a documentary filmmaker with 'Sennan Asbestos Disaster'
Kazuo Hara became famous — some would say notorious — for the documentaries he made about individuals who defied Japanese social norms and laws. One such individual was Kenzo Okuzaki, the subject of Hara's 1987 film "The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On." A veteran of ...
Filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda doesn't underestimate the power of observation
In late 1992, Kazuhiro Soda was attending a "company information session" in Tokyo, where young students about to graduate from university were introduced to various companies as prospective recruits. "I looked around and saw of a sea of young Japanese, all wearing the same black ...
Getting close to Ryuichi Sakamoto
Stephen Nomura Schible refrains from saying whether he and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto are friends, or even close, despite having filmed a documentary about him. "When I'm in the U.S., everyone refers to him by his first name, but in my mind and when I'm in ...
Food, folks and film: Yamagata festival dives deep into documentaries
Once an obscure corner of a film world dominated by the fantasies of Hollywood, documentaries are now drawing more attention from both paying audiences and wider society. And the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, whose 15th edition unspools from Oct. 5 to 12 in ...
'Pelican: 74 Years of Japanese Tradition': A bread documentary that isn't half-baked
The first thing a customer will say when they walk into Pelican past lunchtime is: "Any left?" That's how fast loaves sell at this popular Asakusa bakery. Many a time I've walked into Pelican — sorry, ran into Pelican — at 3 p.m. only to ...
Mizuko Yamaoka takes a different approach in documentary about people with disabilities
Disability presents different challenges for everyone but wheelchair users share a common dilemma: Their mode of locomotion stands out, while they often struggle with social isolation. That was my takeaway from "The Lost Coin," a 2016 short by Mizuko Yamaoka, a filmmaker who has ...
'The Fall of Icarus: Narita Stories': Victory and loss surround the world's entry point to Japan
Almost everyone who comes to Tokyo via Narita International Airport notices the lush green fields surrounding the runways and terminal buildings. It's a nice sight after sitting on an airplane for so long. Some new arrivals get confused, however. "This can't be Tokyo," I once ...
