Yamagata: sidebars

[C. Jacqui Chen]

The posts about Yamagada have been intriguing, especially Markus' account

of the Cinema Juku/Full Shot debate.
Since having immediate access to these works presents a problem for most
in the U.S.,
I wonder if those who attended can shed light on these questions (& I
apologize
beforehand for the navigating the discussion slightly off-course...as
Taiwan
docs are my personal interest):

--With regards to aborginals as the predominant topic for Taiwanese
documentaries
(at least those shown at Yamagata), how would you assess these works as
consciously ethnographic treatments? With Taiwanese documentary in its
infancy,
how sophisticated are these pieces in terms of technique, narrative
construction, 
attitude/reflexivity, and extent of performativity?

--Taiwan nativism is receiving a lot of scholarly attention for its
cultural outputs
dating back to the 80's, flourishing as the Martial law subsided.
This trend of documenting the aborginals -among other disenfranchaised
gorups - 
is part of the process of articulating a Taiwanese identity vis a vis the
island's 
ambiguous standing internationally. My question is, do these 
Full Shot docs touch on Japanese colonization in their encounter with the
aborginals,
who were also Japanized to some degree? How much are the aborginals
acting 
as a two way mirror for Taiwan-Japan/Other relations?

Jacqui Chen

> One of the most interesting events was the encounter between Cinema 
Juku and > Full Shot (the festival published a nice catalogue that
discusses 
> both > collectives). The latter is a group led by Wu Yii-feng in
Taiwan, 
> and is > quite a lively crowd of young filmmakers. Wu was inspired to
Ogawa 
> Shinsuke > to create a group that nutured young documentarists. Cinema
Juku is 
> Hara > Kazuo's effort to bring a new generation of documentary
filmmakers 
> to the > fore. He's been doing this for the last few years, organizing
events 
> around > Japan around various themes and with visits by major film
directors, 
> stars, > and cameramen. The Yamagata event marked the premiere of
Hara's new 
> film, > made "collectively" with his Cinema Juku. Like the video
activism 
> event, > they compared the situations and works of the two groups; this

> comparison > was quite a bit more revealing, and I don't think it left
Hara 
> feeling very > happy.
> 
> Hara's new film is called _My Mishima_ and was made through the 
> auspices of > Hagi City, which sponsored many Cinema Juku through their
own local 
> film > festival. The idea was to bring in a bunch of young people,
almost 
> in a kind > of summer camp situation, and make a 16mm film about
Mishima Island, 
> which > is actually part of Hagi. After sessions on filmmaking skills,
the 
> students > went out to the island to do research. They'd come back with

> writtten > reports and Hara would determine if the material was usable
for the 
> film.> They then shot and edited the film together.
> 
> During the discussion, the story behind the "collectivity" and
> "togetherness" started coming into focus,  mostly because of 
> surprisingly > harsh criticism from the Taiwanese side. I think Hara
and Cinema 
> Juku people > were somewhat taken aback their candor. Actually, word is
spreading 
> in the > film community here that _My Mishima_ is not up to Hara's
usual 
> level, and I> have to admit that it doesn't have the edge of his other
films. In 
> this > sense, it shows the desires and influences of the younger people

> working > with him. They wanted a film that dealt with issues that many

> Japanese can > identify with, leaving one's hometown and mother behind
for a new 
> life in > far away cities. There are interesting scenes where 10 to 20
young 
> people > express, in a single shot, their dreams for the future (which 
> usually have > to do with leaving Mishima) and their relationship to
their 
> hometown. > However, as the Taiwanese pointed out, the film is weakened
because 
> it > doesn't explain _why_ people are leaving. A rep from Hagi film 
> festival > revealed some structural reasons, like taxes and public
funding, 
> that make > life on the island unattractive, adding fuel to the
Taiwanese fire. 
> Put > another way, the Taiwanese wanted politics, which is exactly what

> the young > Japanese filmmakers were trying to avoid.
> 
> Hara and co. tried to defend themselves, but kept falling back on 
> the issue > of *generational difference.* Hara talked about how he's
always 
> criticizing > the young people that attend Cinema Juku, trying to
provoke them and 
> tease > them out of complacency and silence. (This is a story one often

> hears from > university professors in Japan, by the way.) But his
students keep 
> quitting, > making continuity difficult, and making the generation gap
seem
> insurmountable. The Taiwanese berated Hara for criticizing his own  >
students
> like that, but they couldn't appreciate how problematic the  >
relationship is
> between Japanese youth and the World...a paralyzing situation for 
> anyone > aspiring to create documentaries. There was almost a feeling
of 
> dispair on > the Cinema Juku side, in contrast to the energy and
optimism of the 
> Full > Shot side.
> 
> That night, everybody made up in a party that lasted until 
> breakfast, and it > gave me a chance to talk to everyone at length. In
the end, my sense 
> is that > the generational difference that was messing up Hara and
Cinema Juku 
> has a > second historical dimension, that of major transitions in art
and 
> politics. > Hara is dealing with the legasy of the early 1970s, when
the New 
> Left > crumbled...yet stuck around to the present without adequately 
> transforming > to meet historical changes. This is provocatively
suggested by the 
> structure > he chose for Cinema Juku and _My Mishima_. It's a return to
the 
> collective > mode of filmmaking best exemplified by Ogawa Pro and their
_Heta 
> Village_ > (1973). Turning away from what he called the Super Hero-ism 
> (supahiro-shugi) > of his previous films, this would be a group effort
(Cinemea Juku + 
> Hara > Kazuo) about another group (Mishima islanders). It's as if Hara 
> can't think > beyond the earlier paradigm.
> 
> By contrast, the transition that the Taiwanese are dealing is far 
> more > recent: the lifting of martial law and the collapse of the USSR
and 
> the > subsequent reevaluation of Marxism. But for reasons that aren't 
> clear they > are dealing with the transition in interesting ways. The 
> documentaries they > showed were about issues like aboriginal people
and the deaf (by a 
> deaf > woman, with no sound!). And while there might be a generation
gap 
> between Wu > and his students it is not silencing them. I sensed Hara's
jealousy
> regarding the way Full Shot works together. Here is what Hara wrote 
> in the > main catalogue:
> 
> 	Taiwan's history of documentary film is not as long
> 	as Japan's; it's still in its nascent period. Because of 
> that, > 	however, its films are full of a youthful energy of which I 
> am > 	envious. By contrast, when I think about documentary
> 	film in Japan, I am full of bitter doubts over whether
> 	we have passed our prime and lost our energy...I have
> 	the fortune this year to come to the magnet that is
> 	Yamagata. I have made a promise with director
> 	We Yii-feng to do our best in dialogue.
> 
> Both Hara and Tsuchimoto are at a loss about what to do from here on 
> out. > How do you invigorate Japanese documentary without transforming 
> Japan > itself?

_____________________________________________________
FARMERS are miserly, craven, mean, stupid, murderous beasts.
(tears in his eyes) You make me laugh so hard I'm crying.
But then, who made animals out of them?
You...all of you damned samurai.

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