Dutch Premier of "Ushiku" announced

「牛久」オランダ、ベルギー、アメリカ、韓国上映！
Announcing the Dutch Premier of "Ushiku" in CAMERA JAPAN Festival on Sept 24 and 25.
INFO: https://camerajapan.nl/event/ushiku/

Upcoming screenings also include:

Belgium in Electric Shadows on Sept 5.
INFO

USA in I Will Tell International Film Festival ONLINE until Sept 9.
INFO

Korea in DMZ 국제다큐멘터리영화제 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival on Sept 12 and 15.
INFO

Post-screening Q&A held online in the I Will Tell FF

TONIGHT (Sept 1) at 7PM EDT in the US, a live ONLINE screening of "Ushiku" took place in the I Will Tell International Film Festival.  Peter, one of the participants in the film, and I joined the post-screening Q&A which was led by festival director Jenny Lee. INFO

"Ushiku" will be screening ONLINE in the US until Sept 9.

 

Tickets: https://iwilltell.com/video/ushiku/

 

 

Instagram Live Q&A held with Japan Cuts in NYC

Today (Aug 31) a live Q&A about "Ushiku" was held at 8PM EDT in the US (9AM Sept 1 JST in Tokyo) on Instagram with Louis, one of the film's protagonists, and Professor Ai Kihira-Hunt, Associate Professor at The University of Tokyo. WATCH: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CTQouxtpmWa/

"Ushiku" is screening ONLINE in the US in Japan Society's JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film until Sept 2: https://film.japansociety.org/film/ushiku/

 

"Ushiku" to screen in Belgium

Honoured to announce that "Ushiku" will be screening in the Electric Shadows Asian Film Festival in Antwerp, Belgium on September 5 (https://www.electricshadows.be/production/ushiku/). 

 

Meanwhile, On Demand screenings continue in the US until September 2 in the Japan Society's JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film (https://film.japansociety.org/film/ushiku/) where the film was recently named one of Asian Film Festivals' eight films you shouldn't miss (https://asianfilmfestivals.com/.../film-shouldnt-miss.../). 

 

"Ushiku" can also be screened On Demand in the US from August 30-September 9 in the I Will Tell International Film Festival (https://iwilltell.com/video/ushiku/), and in Korea from September 9-16 in DMZ 국제다큐멘터리영화제 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (https://www.dmzdocs.com/.../00000001/program_view.asp...). 

 

For more about the issues the film documents, we are rolling out our Impact Campaign on the film's website and Instagram page.

 

HP: https://www.ushikufilm.com/en/

Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ushikufilm/

Thank you for your support.

"Ushiku" introduced on NHK World program J-FLICKS

Extremely honoured by the coverage of my documentary Ushiku in the newest episode of the NHK WORLD-JAPAN program J-FLICKS. 

I was grateful that an entire 6-minute segment was dedicated to the film, and was particularly humbled by the following exchange:

 

Host Sarah Macdonald: "I've said it before, I'll say it again: Nippon Connection - Japanese Film Festival has a special place in my heart. Now of the films screened this year, I think Ushiku was particularly impactful, a really harrowing film. What did you think of it?"

 

Filmmaker and commentator John Williams: "I think Ushiku is probably one of the most important films that's been made in Japan in the last decade or so. And... I would like everybody to see this. It seems that people just have no idea what's going on in these detention centers in Japan and the way that asylum seekers and refugees are treated here in a really appalling and inhumane way. "

 

And I was utterly floored that NHK World (the international broadcast service of NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster) aired so much of the footage I filmed and obtained from inside the detention center in Ushiku. Using tax dollars to expose the government's systematic violation of human rights is exactly what a public broadcaster should be doing.

 

The episode aired four times on August 21st and 22nd and can now be viewed for FREE until September 4 On Demand here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/.../en/special/episode/202108210910/ The segment about Ushiku begins 28 minutes into the broadcast. 

 

Our mission in making this film and the accompanying Impact Campaign is to create widespread domestic and international awareness of the immigration injustices occurring in Japan and to help works toward an immigration system in Japan where all refugees are recognised through a just, timely, and transparent process.

"Ushiku" to screen online in the US in Japan Cuts FF

映画「牛久」アメリカ上映！Friends in the US: "Ushiku" will be screening ONLINE in the Japan Society's JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film starting TOMORROW (Aug 20) through Sept 2.

 

From the JAPAN CUTS catalog:

 

"(The film) utilizes hidden cameras to interview detainees at Ushiku beginning in late 2019, who detail inadequate medical treatment, failure to recognize trans peoples’ gender identity, physical abuse and hunger strikes, all as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic rages in the background, and Japan promotes a surface-level image of acceptance and inclusion in the name of the Tokyo Olympics."

 

"Ushiku" TRAILER:

https://youtu.be/HadlfyQ-dH8

 

SCREENING INFO:

https://film.japansociety.org/film/ushiku/

 

ONLINE TICKETS:

https://film.japansociety.org/page/japan-cuts-2021/

 

For more about Japanese Immigration facilities:

The family of Wishma, a Sri Lankan woman who died in March following mistreatment at a Japanese immigration center, said she was "treated like a dog" after the government disclosed Thursday security camera footage of her final days.

 

Wishma is the 17th detainee to die at a Japanese immigration center since 2007, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

 

ARTICLE: https://mainichi.jp/.../arti.../20210813/p2g/00m/0na/008000c

 

映画「牛久」アメリカ上映！アメリカの友人へ。「牛久」がジャパン・ソサエティーの「JAPAN CUTS」でオンライン上映されます。明日（8月20日）から9月2日まで、ジャパン・ソサエティーの「JAPAN CUTS：Festival of New Japanese Film」でオンライン上映されます。

JAPAN CUTSのカタログより。

“（本作は）2019年後半から牛久の収容者に隠しカメラを使ってインタビューを行い、不適切な医療処置、トランス・ジェンダーの人々に対しジェンダー・アイデンティティを認めないこと、身体的虐待、ハンガー・ストライキなどの事実を詳細に語っている。

COVID-19パンデミックの脅威の中にありながらも、東京オリンピックの名の下に、日本は表面的には受容とインクルージョンのイメージをアピールしている。”

日本の入国管理施設については、こちらをご覧ください。

 

ARTICLE: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210811/ddm/012/070/093000c

 

日本の入国管理センターで虐待を受けて3月に死亡したスリランカ人女性、ウィシュマさんの家族は、政府が木曜日にウィシュマさんの最期の日の防犯カメラの映像を公開した後、彼女が「犬のように扱われた」と述べました。

入国管理局によると、2007年以降、日本の入国管理局で死亡した収容者はウィシュマさんで17人目。

"Ushiku" to sceen in two upcoming festivals in the US and one in Korea

I am honoured to announce screenings of my documentary "Ushiku" in Japan Society Film's Japan Cuts FF (USA, Aug 20-Sept 2), I Will Tell International Film Festival (USA, Aug 30-Sept 9) & DMZ 국제다큐멘터리영화제 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (Korea, Sept 9-16).

 

I will be posting more information, including links to find out more about how to view the film in the online festivals, soon.
 

Find out how asylum seekers to Japan are treated when the world is NOT watching the Olympics and the Paralympic Games with their Refugee Olympic Teams.

Philosopher Hiroki Azuma publishes essay about "Ushiku"

Extremely honoured Japanese cultural critic, novelist, and philosopher Hiroki Azuma wrote about my documentary "Ushiku" in his essay published in the magazine AERA.

 

東浩紀「人権侵害が指摘されてきた全件収容主義からの決別を」──『AERA 2021年6月28日』巻頭エッセイ「eyes」掲載

 

朝日新聞出版の雑誌『AERA』の巻頭エッセイコーナー「eyes」に、東浩紀が隔週で連載中です！

 

『AERA 2021年6月28日』の記事は、「人権侵害が指摘されてきた全件収容主義からの決別を」です。

 

ドキュメンタリー映画『牛久』にふれながら、「他国からの批判を躱（かわ）すため、一部外国人に制度の歪（ひず）みを押し付けるのは許されない。審査基準の透明性確保が求められる。」と、日本の入管が管理する外国人収容施設、そして外国人受け入れに関する世論について、見解を述べています。

 The essay can be found here: https://genron-alpha.com/news20210622_01/

"Sending Off" receives award for Best Documentary in Italy

 

「おみおくり〜Sending Off〜」はイタリアに行われるLBLFF映画祭にてドキュメンタリーグランプリ受賞。

 

 

It is extremely poignant that in the midst of my father passing away last week, my documentary about death and dying「おみおくり〜Sending Off〜」was awarded the prize for Best Documentary in The Life Beyond Life Film Festival, an event dedicated to films about terminal care, grief, and transition.

 

Jury Statement:

 

"The Documentary Jury awarded the Best Documentary of the LBLFF, First Edition to 'Sending Off' based on the incredible authenticity of the story, the cleanliness of the visual choices, and the dignified vision of Death!”

 

Although we were not able to attend the closing ceremony which was held in person in Italy, Dr. Kaoru Konta and I recorded our greetings and gratitude to be played at the event.

 

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/IanThomasAsh/posts/4060295464086919

"Ushiku" featured in Japan Times

Honoured and grateful that “Ushiku” was featured on the entire back page of today’s The Japan Times.

（日本語は下記にあります）

 

“I was really compelled to film because I was a witness to human rights abuses. I literally believed it was possible (the detainees) were going to die. And I realized that just volunteering wasn’t going to work. It was going to help the people there, but not change the situation.”

 

To effect change, Ash believed that “it was imperative to collect what I believed would be evidence; the goal wasn’t just to make a film.” One powerful piece of that evidence is video footage, taken inside the Ushiku facility, of guards piling on a vocally protesting detainee with postures and attitudes reminiscent of George Floyd’s murder. The detainee, known only as Deniz, even says “I can’t breathe, you’re choking me” at one point, though he survives and becomes one of Ash’s interviewees.

 

In March, the death of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration facility in Nagoya elicited widespread condemnation. Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali had spent months fruitlessly complaining to staff of ill health, and public criticism increased when it was revealed that the facility had refused her repeated requests for outside hospital treatment — while releasing dozens of other detainees due to coronavirus infection concerns.

 

Soon after her death, the government and the ruling coalition dropped plans to amend the nation’s immigration law to make it even stricter, including a proposal to criminally prosecute asylum seekers who do not comply with deportation orders.

 

But as Thomas Ash shows in his new documentary “Ushiku,” the conditions endured by detainees in Japan’s 17 immigration centers under the current law are bad enough, driving many to go on hunger strikes or attempt suicide — with some dying in the process.

 

Read the FULL article here: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/06/11/films/ushiku-documentary-immigration-centers/

 

私は、人権侵害の目撃者です。ですから、どうしても撮影したかったのです。私は文字通り、（拘留者が）死ぬかもしれないと全く疑いもなく思いました。そして、ただボランティアをするだけではだめだと。そこにいる人たちを助けることはできても、状況を変えることはできないと思いました。

 

アッシュは、変化をもたらすためには、「自分が信じる証拠を集めることが不可欠であり、ただ映画を作ることが目的ではない」と考えました。その証拠のひとつが、牛久の施設内で撮影された、声を上げて抗議する被収容者に警備員達が、それはまるでジョージ・フロイド殺害事件を彷彿とさせる姿勢で、襲いかかっている強烈な映像だ。デニズと名乗るその被収容者は、「息ができない、首を絞められている」とさえ言っていたが、なんとか生き延び、アッシュのインタビュー対象の一人となった。

 

3月には、名古屋の入国管理局でスリランカ人女性が死亡するという事件が発生し、大きな非難を浴びました。ラットナヤケ・リャナゲ・ウィシュマ・サンダマリさんは、何ヶ月も体調不良を職員に訴え続けていましたが、施設側がコロナウイルス感染の懸念から他の数十人の収容者を釈放する一方で、彼女が外部の病院で治療を受けたいという再三の要請を拒否していたことが明らかになり、世論の批判が高まりました。

 

彼女の死後すぐに、政府と連立与党は、国外退去命令に従わない亡命者を刑事訴追するなど、入管法をさらに厳しく改正する計画であったが、これを中止した。

 

しかし、トーマス・アッシュ監督の新作ドキュメンタリー「牛久」によると、現行法の下で日本の17カ所の入国管理センターに収容されている被収容者の状況は最悪で、多くの人がハンガーストライキや自殺に追い込まれ、その過程で命を落とす人もいるという。

"Ushiku" awarded in Germany

“Ushiku” has been awarded the Nippon Docs Award in the 2021 Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany! Thank you all so very much for your support. We will continue to work hard to share the voices of the courageous participants in the film with people in Japan and around the world.

 

Per audience vote, the Nippon Docs Award went to the documentary Ushiku by Thomas Ash, dealing with a current, highly controversial political issue. The film accuses human rights violations in the eponymous immigration center near Tokyo, as well as Japan’s current immigration policies. The award was given out for the second time this year.

 

Official Press Release: https://nipponconnection.com/en/press-releases/nippon-connection-2021-award-winners/ 

 

VIDEO of Award Ceremony: https://www.ushikufilm.com/en/press/nippon-docs-award-ceremony/

 

2021年ニッポン・コネクション映画祭にて「牛久」がドキュメンタリー部門のグランプリを頂きました！感謝しております。

プレースリリス：https://nipponconnection.com/ja/press-releases/nippon-connection-2021-award-winners/ 

 

 

1,600 viewers join preview of "Ushiku"

It was humbling to have 1,600 viewers join us online for the preview screening of "Ushiku" last evening. And I continue to be in awe of the courageousness of the participants who choose to speak out about their treatment inside of immigration detention at great risk. Two of the participants joined us for the screening last evening, and I look forward to more screenings where audiences can hear directly from more of the film's participants. 

 

 

The World Premier of "Ushiku" will take place from June 1-6 in the Nippon Connection - Japanese Film Festival which will be held online due to the pandemic.

"Ushiku" Press Conference held at The Foreign Correspondents' Club Of Japan

A Press Conference about my new documentary "Ushiku" was held today at the The Foreign Correspondents' Club Of Japan: Human Rights Abuses In Japan's Detention Centers

WATCH: https://youtu.be/kJIT5Hkbd8w

 

日本外国特派員協会での記者会見日本語通訳付き:

WATCH: https://youtu.be/DkajVOU-29Y

 

"Ushiku" trailer released

牛久市にある東日本入国管理センターに収容された難民申請者が、隠しカメラにその実態を語る。

Seeking asylum in Japan, detainees at the infamous Ushiku immigration centre speak out in secretly recorded interviews.

比類なき不正義
an injustice of Olympic proportion

予告編 TRAILER: 

 

David Plath Media Award commendation for "Sending Off"

審査員特別賞

Extremely honoured to receive this commendation for my documentary 「おみおくり〜Sending Off〜」from the Society for East Asia Anthropology's David Plath Media Award.

"The Award Committee was deeply moved by the film and applauds the intimate ethnographic lens brought to bear on a personal and often private subject....the film explores not just aging, but gender roles and the ethics of care in Japan."

「選考委員会は貴殿の映画に大変感動し、パーソナルでしばしば私的な主題に持ち込まれた、親密で民俗学的なレンズに称賛を送っています。愛する人たちの人生の終末期を共に生きる、農村の少数の家族を追うことにより、映画は年をとるということだけではなく、男性と女性が果たす役割や、日本のケアにおける倫理観にも迫っています。」

 

Guest Lecture at Kyoto University

I am extremely honoured to have been invited to present a guest lecture today at Kyoto University for Prof. Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano’s lecture series “Transcultural Cinema Forum” attended both by in-person students in Kyoto and online students in Heidelberg, Germany. 

 

"Easy Japanese" Video Series on the News

I am extremely honoured that scenes from our latest "Easy Japanese" video series were featured on this evening’s national news at 7PM on NHK 1.

Tonight’s news report coincided with this afternoon’s release of the 10-part educational series I directed about “Easy Japanese in Medical Settings” for the research team of 順天堂/Juntendo Univ's Dr. Yuko Takeda, Sacred Heart University’s Dr. Kazunari Iwata, Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health's Dr. Hirono Ishikawa and NPO CINGA’s Midori Nii.

I am so grateful to our extremely talented production team:

Daniel Ndevu, production coordinator
Hitomi Nakatani, illustrator
Jeremy Yamamura, animator
Komiya Tetsuro, composer/ sound mixer
株式会社 栃木プロジェクトプロ narration/ animation
The Third Eye Corp’s Tanaka Sakae, production management
and Hemant Singh, director of photography/ editor who accomplished the neck-breaking and eyeball bursting task of editing nearly 75 minutes of blue screen compositing in lightning speed. He is a magician, miracle-worker and gentleman.

More about the video series in the official press release: https://www.juntendo.ac.jp/news/20200925-01.html

 

"Boys for Sale" screens at OAG House in Tokyo

I am extremely grateful to have been able to attend this evening’s screening of Boys For Sale, the first public in-person screening of a film I produced since the pandemic began. With social distancing in place, the screening was fully booked. The event was part of the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) interdisciplinary lecture series “Gender and Sexuality in East Asia: Cultural Studies and Social Science Perspectives”.

Prior to the screening, the composers of the film’s soundtrack Syamisenist Jack and Komiya Tetsuro played music from the film live. And Ko, one of the film’s protagonists, joined me for a post-screening discussion. My gratitude to all who attended and to the organizers for making the event possible.

Event info: https://oag.jp/events/boys-for-sale-von-ian-thomas-ash/

 

"Sending Off" to screen in NYC's Japan Cuts

"Sending off" is streaming from TODAY (July 17) until July 30 in the US! 

I am extremely honoured "Sending Off" has been selected to screen in the 2020 JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film! Due to COVID-19, the festival will be online, but this means the entire program of films will be available to stream for anyone in the US!

From the catalogue: "Capturing the process of dying as unobtrusively as possible and with absolute sensitivity..." 

FILM: https://japancuts.japansociety.org/film/sending-off/
TICKETS: https://japancuts.japansociety.org/page/tickets/
 

And I have the additional honour of taking part in the panel "New Approaches to Documentary from Japan".

PANEL (free): https://japancuts.japansociety.org/page/talks-events/

UPDATE July 27: Grateful for this Windows on Worlds review of "Sending Off":

https://windowsonworlds.com/2020/07/23/sending-off-%E3%81%8A%E3%81%BF%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%E3%80%9Csending-off%E3%80%9C-ian-thomas-ash-2019/

"Sending Off" to be broadcast on PBS Guam

金曜日グアムにてテレビ放送!!! I am extremely honoured my 2019 film Sending Off will be broadcast on Friday (June 5) at 8PM on PBS Guam (Channel 12) as part of the Guam International Film Festival "Select Showcase". Who could have imagined when this was scheduled months ago that broadcasting more than 40 films from 15 countries in 18 episodes would be so important for audiences as they Stay at Home.
 

INFO: https://www.guamfilmfestival.org/