Japanese Female Directors
Dir. Higashimori Aika
Japan 2021, 61’
Subtitles: English
An aesthetically striking work of docufiction that pays tribute to the unique island culture of Yonaguni Multi-talented filmmaker HIGASHIMORI Aika (writer, director, actress, DP, editor) crafts a tribute to her birthplace island of Yonaguni, located just over 100km from Taiwan as Japan’s westernmost point. A cast of local characters, including a uniformed schoolgirl (Higashimori herself), a young man in a straw hat, and a young woman who wields a bone, appear in poetic vignettes fluidly interspersed with scenes of Yonaguni’s artisanal traditions and cultural heritage. Fishing, music, weaving and other activities are all captured for their inherent beauty. Higashimori’s own grandmother tells her vivid stories of how she and other villagers prayed to the gods for rain in her youth. As pristine as Yonaguni is, it hasn’t completely escaped environmental issues. A woman tenderly picks up the carcass of a dead gull on the road, its innards enmeshed with plastic refuse. In another scene, a picturesque beach is littered with garbage, some of it from other countries (including a useful length of treated bamboo from Taiwan). Higashimori apparently grew up without access to the cinemas or video shops until her high school years, a fact which seems to lend additional raw power to her cumulated images of Yonaguni. The characters all make vows to their island home, and the film itself is clearly that.
Awards and Festivals
PIA Film Festival 2021 - PFF Award Grand Prize
Screenings
Kino Kameralne Cafe on September 27 at 3 p.m.
Higashimori Aika
While enrolled in the Acting Course at Kyoto University of Arts Film Department, she learnt about film from various aspects while appearing in a number of student films. Her first film, Bachiranun", which she directed as his graduation work, won the Grand Prix of Pia Film Festival 2021. In this film, she also starred, edited and worked as an art director. While studying the Yonaguni language, she publishes her articles and writes columns in the “Okinawa Times” and other newspapers. She is also active as an actor.
Filmography
2021 Bachiranun
Cast & Crew
Director: Higashimori Aika
Screenplay: Higashimori Aika
Cinematography: Higashimori Aika
Editing: Higashimori Aika
Costume Design: Hirai Mari, Yamamoto Sakura
Cast: Higashimori Aika, Ishida Kenta, Sasaki Nami, Mitsui Yasudai, Yamamoto Sakura
Producer: Kimura Yūri, Mitsui Yasuhiro
Production: Department of film at Kyoto Art University
Language: Japanese, Yonaguni
Colouration: Colour
