Yamagata----Okinawa Schedule

Mark Nornes amnornes at umich.edu
Sat Oct 4 19:14:31 EDT 2003


Any Kinema Clubbers going to Yamagata? Aaron and I will be there. I'm 
curious if anyone else will be. Perhaps we could get together, either 
at Komian or somewhere else.

Markus

PS: the latest Yamagata News has a complete schedule of their Okinawa 
event---this is the kind of serious, smart, in-depth programming that 
Yamagata is famous for. I can't wait!





====================================================================
===                Y I D F F  News ... October 4, 2003
===
===     YAMAGATA International Documentary Film Festival 2003
===                October 10 (Friday) - 16 (Thursday)
====================================================================
Tickets: Now on sale!
http://www.city.yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff/2003/info/03tickets-e.html
====================================================================

Okinawa -- Nexus of Borders: Ryukyu Reflections

"In this forest of images, as the 'nexus of borders' that is Okinawa
arises, assumptions of a monolingual Japan begin to waver, and people
transform into mirrors and windows. A brand new cinematic journey
through Okinawa begins."

"Ryukyu Reflections" exceeds the boundaries of documentaries, feature
films and TV documentaries. Comprised of ten themes - from works that
depict the Battle of Okinawa and occupation by the U.S., to the
upheaval before and after Okinawa's reversion to Japan, and rare pre-
war films to the most up-to-date offerings - this retrospective
offers a diffused reflection of Okinawan imagery. A diverse program
is scheduled, including symposiums, screenings featuring talk shows
and live performance. Other related events to look forward to are "
Ryukyu Exotica", a live performance of Okinawan Folk Songs by Oshiro
Misako; photo exhibition "Fruits of the Sun: Okinawan Photographic
Rhapsody"; an Okinawa Bazaar featuring a wide selection of goods from
the Ryukyus.


< Part 1:
   Oriental Ryukyu:Showa Era Pre-war Perspectives on Okinawa >

In 1879, according to the terms of the Ryukyu Shobun (The Disposal of
Ryukyu), the Ryukyu was incorporated into the boundaries of Japan and
became Okinawa. However, it continued to mark by the unique binary
aspect of the region in the southern seas; it was Japan, and yet it
was not. How was the South visualized and desired by Japan's modern
This riddle and quandary is clearly expressed by the precious images
that remain.

_Okinawa_
1936 / 35mm / 14 min
_Scenes from the Main Island of Okinawa and the Surrounding Islands
  (Unedited film)_
Photography: Kawamura Tadao / 1936-40 / Video (orig. 8mm) /40 min
_Ryukyu Arts_
Supervisors: Yanagi Soetsu, Shikiba Ryuzaburo  / 1939 / 16mm / 11 min
_Ryukyu Scenes_
Supervisors: Yanagi Soetsu, Shikiba Ryuzaburo  / 1940 / 16mm / 13 min
_Southern Ryukyu Islands_
circa1940 / 16mm / 11 min
_People of the Sea: Okinawa Island Story_
1942 / 35mm / 28 min


< Part 2: The Battle of Okinawa/The final Conflict
   between the U.S. and Japan >

The American military imbedded cameramen within its units and
faithfully recorded "Operation Iceberg," the name given to the
invasion of Okinawa.  These films bear a record without mercy. When
put into this context however, they express entirely different
meanings.  This section provides an opportunity to fundamentally
rethink war reportage and documentaries themself.

1) Records without  Mercy
_Records of the Battle of Okinawa--from the Collection of the One-
foot Film Movement_
1945 / 16mm / 120 min

2) Records and Propaganda
     a) From Newsreels,
        _The World in Film (Welt im Film)_
        GERMAN / 1945 / 35mm / 60 min
     b) From U.S. Military Official Publicity Films
        _Pacific/Ryukyu Operations_
        _The Conquest of Okinawa_
        _The 6th Marine Division on Okinawa_
        USA / 1945 / Video (Orig:16mm) / 90 min

3) The Production of Memory and Transmission of Narrative
_A Document of the Battle of Okinawa, Told One Foot at a Time_
1995 / Video / 57 min


< Part 3:  The Battle of Okinawa in Relief/A Chronicle of Memories >

Discribed as a "Typhoon of Steel," the Battle of Okinawa was more
than a struggle between the armies of America and Japan; it also
revealed the structural deformity of modern Japan, and the
complicated interplay between Japan and Okinawa. The battle
illuminated the state of education and the military; the mainfold
structure of victim and oppressor; testimony and the shape of memory;
and the darkness that resides within man. As we approach this
darkness, the Battle of Okinawa enable shine a light on a century of
war.

1) Endless Questions
_Monument of Star Lilies_ (English subtitled version)
Imai Tadashi / 1953 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 131 min
_Turbulent Showa History: Battle of Okinawa_
Okamoto Kihachi / 1971 / 35mm / 149 min
_Star Lily War History_
1979 / Video / 48 min
_A Gap in History_
1980 / Video / 25 min
_An Overdue Decision_
1988 / Video / 45 min

2) Voice and the Narration of Trauma: Memory and Living Words Today
_War Stories Told in Shima kutuba_ <Six Parts>
2003 / Video / 360 min


< Part 4:  Americanization and Japanization >

The 1952 San Francisco Peace Accords left Okinawa under American
administration. Okinawa became a military cornerstone in the Far East
for the USA, while Japan used it as a pawn for bolstering the "
national body," that had been weakened by wartime defeat. This
section revisits the ways in which Okinawa was exploited by America
and Japan, and reconsiders the historical shifts in Okinawan dreams
and resistance.

1) Promotion in the American Era
_Raising Ryukyu_
Video (Orig:35mm) / 37 min
_These Ten Years, Part1_
Video (Orig:35mm) / 14 min
_A Selection of Ryukyu News_
Video (Orig:35mm) / 60 min

2) Soul-graphy of the A-Sign Era
_Okinawan Boys_
Shinjo Taku / 1983 / 35mm / 117 min / English subtitled version
_Via Okinawa_ (English subtitled version)
Sai Yoichi / 1989 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) /111 min / English subtitled
version

3) Longing for the Mother Country/Across the 27th Parallel
_Okinawa: Road to the Homeland_
1967 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 22 min
_The Voice of Okinawa_
1969 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 30 min
_Cries Coral Reef_
1965 / 16mm / 41 min
_Eighteen in Okinawa_
1966 / Video / 25 min
_History of the Reversion Struggle_
1977 / Video (orig.16mm) / 40 min

4) The Return of Okinawa:  Behind the Scenes
_As Okinawa Goes, So Goes Japan_
1997 / Video / 45 min
_Whistle-blowing_
2002 / Video / 45 min
News Film _Those Times (from Yomiuri International News)_
        _No. 1044 Turbulent Okinawa_
        _No. 1168 Signing of the Okinawa Reversion Agreement_
        _No. 1215 Okinawa Returns Home_
        1972 / 16mm, Video (org.35mm) / 15 min

5) In the Gulf between America and Japan
_Okinawa Islands_ (New Print)
Higashi Yoichi / 1969 / 16mm (orig.35mm) / 90 min
_Breaking through Hard Ground_
1971 / Video / 25 min
_The Footsteps of Young Okinawans_
1985 / Video / 50 min


< Part 5:  Caught Between Different Worlds/When the 27th Parallel
   Disappears >

In 1972, Okinawa reverted to Japanese sovereignty. In contrast to the
surging tide of assimilation to mainland Japan, the contradictions
that had been obscured by the reversion movement were exposed:
sometimes distorted, sometimes creating sharp conflicts. A number of
films were produced that intervened in various phases of these
changing eras. At the same time in Okinawa, a quest for a new visual
style began.

1) Accumulated Voices, Entangled Gazes
_The Gentle Japanese_ (New Print)
Higashi Yoichi  / 1971 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 118 min

2) In the Place of Violence: The Labyrinth of Resistance
_Okinawa Yakuza War_
Nakajima Sadao / 1976 / 35mm / 96 min
_The Miracle of Joe, the Petrel_
Fujita Toshiya / 1984 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 134 min / English
subtitled version

3) The Penetration of the "Yamato Era" and the Construction of "
Okinawa"

_1975 Okinawa Summer_
Tomimoto Minoru /1975 / 16mm / 15 min
_When Calling Jahana Noboru_
Tomimoto Minoru / 1976 / 16mm / 30 min
_Yamangunutida_
Jahana Yuzuru / 1978 / 16mm / 35 min
_the Life of Okinawa Part 1: Indigenous Island Fauna_
Yoshida Yutaka / 1978 / 16mm / 75 min
_Act 1, Scene 1 Okinawa Jinruikan_
1978 / Video / 25 min


< Part 6:  Okinawan Diaspora/Leaving Okinawa >

Okinawa is known for froducing multitudes of emigrants. Before the
World War II, they left to escape from the economic crisis known as "
Sago Palm Hell," in order to aid the ones they left behind; after the
war, they were scattered by the forced confiscation of their land by
the American military. The present day, the modern times experienced
by these Okinawan exiles. Light and shadow, Nostalgia and the Sea...
We see the trace of the Okinawan diaspora.

_Leaving Port: Okinawa_
1972 / Video / 25 min
_Okinauense: Okinawans Living  in Latin America
  <In Bolivia> <In Peru>_
1977 / Video / 50 min
_Memories of Betrayal_
1988 / Video /25 min
_Hia Sa Sa - Hai Yah!_
Olga Futemma / 1985 / Video / 27 min


< Part 7:  Okinawa: Colonial Landscape >

More than a few foreign filmmakers listened to Okinawan voices and
concerned Okinawan memories that were buried under a colonial
landscape of immigrants, World War II, the U.S. Occupation, and the
turmoil of changing eras. The films in this section evoke the visual
poetry born of contact with other cultures.


1) Colonial Elegies, Occupation Cliches
_Hill of No Return_
Wang Tung / TAIWAN / 1992 / 35mm /165 min
_The Teahouse of the August Moon_
Daniel Mann / USA / 1956 / Video (orig. 35mm) / 124 min / Japanese
subtitled version

2) Sharing the Battle of Okinawa
_Let There Be Light_
John Huston / USA / 1946 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 58 min
_Level 5_
Chris Marker / FRANCE / 1996 / 35mm / 106 min


< Part 8: Earth Songs and Celestial Fantasies >

A chain of islands from Japan to Taiwan, scattered in a crescent like
a garland of flowers. Here rituals are performed by women who
communicate with ancient gods, and a snakeskin shamisen weaves
melodies in a pan-Asian scale. Mysterious heavenly beings born of the
power of the subtropical imagination travel freely between heaven and
earth. Deities playfully wander the land, song overflows, and
fantasies grow luxuriously...

1) A Banquet of Sound and Fantasy
_Tsukishiro Story_
Ohinata Den / 1959 / Video (orig. 16mm) / 40 min
_The Yoshiya Chiru Story_
Kinjo Tetsuo / 1961 / 16mm / 96 min
_Ultra seven: The Young Messenger_
1968 / Video (orig. 16mm) / 25 min
_Song of Ajima_ (YIDFF2003 Closing Screening)
Aoyama Shinji / 2002 / 35mm / 88 min / English subtitled version

2) Wandering of the Deities and Sprits
_Nanamui / Part1 Ceremonial Songs_
2003 / Video / 79 min
_Nanamui/Part2 Yugui_
2003 / Video / 79 min


< Part 9:  The World of Takamine Go:  Blood (chi), Earth (chi),
Wisdom (chi), Foolishness (chi) and "chi" >

Takamine Go's emergence has clearly punctuated the history of
Okinawan film. In this chronicle of his world, a retrospective within
a special program6, we are able to deeply appreciate the magic
realism and multiple Okinawas that arise from his works. We can see
clearly how much Okinawan cinema has changed before and after
Takamine arrived on the scene.

_Sashingwa (Dear Photograph)_
1973 / 8mm /15 min
_Okinawan Dream Show_
1974 / 8mm / 180 min
_Okinawan Chirudai_ <Special Edition>
1976- / Video / 78 min / Japanese subtitled version
_Paradise View_
1985 / 16mm (orig. 35mm) / 113 min / Japanese and English Subtitled
version
_Untamagiru_
1989 / 35mm / 120 min / Japanese and English Subtitled version
_Kadekaru Rinsho: Songs and Stories_
1994 / Video / 59 min / Japanese subtitled version
_Tsuru-Henry_
1998 / Video / 90 min / Japanese subtitled version
_Private Images of Ryukyu: J.M._
1996-  / Video / 54 min / Japanese subtitled version


< Part 10:  Diffused Reflections of Okinawa >

Okinawa is a cinematic archipelago. This is not simply because of the
sheer number of works that have been produced; it is true as far as
the quality suggested by its imagery, and the way it has traversed
and expanded across borders. Why is it that so many eyes have turned
to Okinawa, and why has Okinawa provoked so much desire for
expression? Setting off from this diffused reflection of images of
Okinawa, what kind of cinematic voyage will the new generation of
filmmakers embark upon?

1) The Reflection of Okinawan Images
_White Mural_
Chiba Yasuki / 1942 / 35mm / 96 min
_Sonatine_
Kitano Takeshi / 1993 / 35mm / 94 min


2) Okinawan Mixed and Spirit
_Pineapple Tours_
Makiya Tsutomu, Nakae Yuji, Toma Hayashi / 1992 / 35mm / 118 min /
Japanese and English Subtitled version
_Fighting Rabbit_
Gushiken Tsuyoshi / 1992 / 8mm / 42 min
_Hitchhiker_
Jahana Yuzuru / 1977 / 16mm / 15 min


** Short Film Collection by new talent from Okinawa

_TOBUKOTSU_
Komatsu Hashihito / 2001 / Video / 8 min
_Ninja 2000 Millennium_
Kawabata Shoji / 2001 / Video / 13 min
_Wonder Frog_
Matayoshi Hiroshi / 2001/ Video / 6 min
_The Summer Vacation Experiment_
Matayoshi Hiroshi  / 2002/ Video / 3min
_Unfixed_
Kameshima Makoto / 2003 / Video / 10 min
_Call_
Miyahira Takako / 2001 / Video / 19 min
_Ryukyu Underground "Hana -- A Flower for Each Person's Heart"_
Gushiken Tsuyoshi / 2003 / Video / 5 min
_Yachimun "Sky Blue"_
Toma Hayashi / 1994 / Video (orig. 8mm) / 6 min
_Yachimun "Kitamae Song"_
Toma Hayashi / 1994 / Video / 5 min
_Yachimun '93 LIVE in OFT Opening Movie_
Toma Hayashi / 1993 / Video / 11 min


< Symposium: "Alienation and Crossing Borders: Okinawa -- A Cinematic
Topology" >

How has Okinawa been represented in films? A discussion of the
attractions of Ryukyu reflections and the actuality arises from this
place called Okinawa.

Date/Time: October 12 (Sunday), 15:10-
Venue: Solaris 2
Admission: Free
Panelists: Takamine Go (Filmmaker), Nishitani Osamu (Critic), Aaron
Gerow (Japanese film scholar)
Other Guests: Higa Toyomitsu, Murayama Tomoe (Ryukyu Islands
Historical Society), Fukuchi Hiroaki (Okinawan Historical Film
Society), Moriguchi Katsu (Journalist), Oshiro Misako (Okinawan Folk
song singer)

For more information on Okinawa Panorama venues, ticket sales and
other programs, please visit the YIDFF homepage.
http://www.city.yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff/

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