Tag - documentary

 
 

DOCUMENTARY

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2018
'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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2018
Hyoe Yamamoto dives into Japan's culture of corporate corruption in 'Samurai and Idiots: The Olympus Affair'
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 the so-called samurai spirit that many...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2018
'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...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 28, 2018
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.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Feb 24, 2018
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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 26, 2017
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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2017
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 Yamagata, has long been...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 27, 2017
'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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 7, 2017
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 been using a wheelchair...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 6, 2017
'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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 9, 2017
'Le Moulin' gives a voice to Taiwanese poets who wrote under Japan's colonial rule
The word "nisshiki" (Japanese style) can often be seen on storefront signs in Taiwan to indicate chic, high-end products. It's a little similar to what we in Japan associate with luxury items from France, though "nisshiki" is a holdover from the days when Taiwan was under Japanese rule (1895-1945).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 28, 2017
'Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents': Alternative music's anti-stars make for fascinating documentary subjects
Some 45 years after their first appearance on a San Francisco stage, The Residents remain a band that practically defines the term "cult," and their freak-show, cartoon-surrealist approach continues to attract a healthy fan base (as evidenced by some sold-out shows at Tokyo's Blue Note back in March)....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 5, 2017
Yoshiki: 'We had to make our own world'
Yoshiki Hayashi hardly sleeps. The drummer, pianist, songwriter and leader of rock band X Japan has been in and out of the country constantly these past few months, promoting his band's new documentary film, "We Are X." At the same time he has been performing solo concerts, recording and squeezing in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 26, 2017
Bon Ishikawa discovers the strength of community in documentary on Nepal earthquake
During one scene in Bon Ishikawa's upcoming documentary "Sekai de Ichiban Utsukushii Mura" ("The Most Beautiful Village in the World"), the photographer-turned-filmmaker uses a drone to capture one of Asia's oldest traditions: the collecting of honey from caves in the steep cliffs of the Himalayas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2016
'The Decline of Western Civilization' is a punk masterpiece
The Sex Pistols played their final gig at San Francisco's Winterland in January 1978. About a year later, Sid Vicious died from an overdose, and so did punk rock — according to the music magazines. The Pistols' chaotic tour of America, however, had dropped like a stone in a still pond, and the ripples...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 29, 2015
Documentary captures anti-nuclear protest movement's evolution
In the summer of 2012, tens of thousands of people gathered around the prime minister's office with one message — no more nuclear power. People flooded the streets of Tokyo's Nagatacho district, chanting and holding up signs saying "No Nukes!" in the hope their voices could be heard.

Longform

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