Training the next generation to be and do good
Sneak Preview Screening: "The Making of a Japanese (Shogakko: Sore wa Chiisana Shakai)" followed by a Q&A with director Ema Ryan Yamazaki and producer Eric Nyari
Monday, September 30 at 6:00 pm*
*Please note early start time.
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan/Finland/USA/France 2023 99 minutes
Directed by: Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Produced by: Eric Nyari
Executive Producers: Shin Yasuda, Akihiko Sugie, Mizue Kunizane
Featuring: Students and teachers at Tsukado Elementary School
Film courtesy of HPS
Presented by Cineric Creative and NHK
Award-winning documentarian Ema Ryan Yamazaki grew up in Japan and recalls often being the proverbial nail that stuck out and feeling "suffocated by the rigid rules of society." When she left for college in New York City, however, she discovered a newfound appreciation for many of the traits that had been ingrained in her from an early age - punctuality, patience, discipline, diligence, putting others first and a strong sense of personal responsibility.
Later, facing the prospect of parenthood, she began wondering just how much Japan was shifting from the "one-size-fits-all education" that had enabled the economic miracle of the past, toward a model that "cater[s] to individual needs and nurture[s] unique talents." The result is Yamazaki's revelatory "The Making of a Japanese," which she shot for nearly a year at suburban Tokyo's Tsukado Elementary School, one of the largest public elementary schools in Japan, with nearly 1,000 students.
Lowering her camera to intimately capture the experiences of 1st and 6th graders from their own perspective, Yamazaki focuses on the daily events that reveal how the children are taught to share communal values and play important roles within the group: aligning shoes and bookbags properly, cleaning the school, ranking each other's tidiness, serving lunch, prepping for earthquakes and other disasters, rehearsing and perfecting skills, supporting and comforting each other when challenges seem insurmountable.
Framing the film with the inevitable blossoming of cherry blossoms as the school year begins and then ends, Yamazaki observes minute and illuminating details, but does not take sides. "While Japan's collective strengths and harmony are often what the country is known for," she acknowledges, "the same traits can also act as a double-edge sword."
Please join us for this sneak preview of "The Making of a Japanese" before the Japanese release in December.
For more: https://www.autlookfilms.com/films/the-making-of-a-japanese
Director and editor EMA RYAN YAMAZAKI graduated from New York University and began her career as an editor and an assistant to documentary mogul Sam Pollard. Her first feature documentary, "Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators" (2017), was released worldwide and won the Audience Award at the Nantucket Film Festival. Her second feature documentary, "Koshien: Field of Dreams" (2019), aired on ESPN in primetime and was released theatrically in Japan. Yamazaki served as editor and co-producer of Shiori Ito's upcoming "Black Box Diaries" (2024), which premiered to critical acclaim in Sundance's World Cinema Doc Competition.
Producer ERIC NYARI is president of Cineric Creative and international representative for renowned film restoration house Cineric, Inc. He has produced numerous films in Japan, including director Amir Naderi's "Cut" (2011), Ema Ryan Yamazaki's "Koshien: Field of Dreams" (2019), Yoichiro Okutani's "Odoriko" and "Nude at Heart" (2021), Takeshi Fukunaga's "Ainu Mosir" (2020) and "Mountain Woman" (2022), Neo Sora's "HappyEnd" (2024) and Shiori Ito's "Black Box Diaries" (2024). He has also managed 4K restorations of Japanese classics such as Kenji Mizoguchi's "Ugetsu" with Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, as well as Yasujiro Ozu's "Late Spring."
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online. All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Karen Severns, Film Committee