Peace is only narrow when we allow it to be.

The first full day of Global Peace Film Festival screenings and events has come to a close.  Reflecting on this first day, I am left with the feeling that "Global Peace" as a theme ostensibly feels so narrow and yet through the dedication and hard work of the festival's director and programmer, the topics and themes covered by the films screening here are seemingly endless.

In addition to the huge honour of being invited to speak to two classes today, I was also among some of the filmmakers interviewed at the radio station at Rollins College, one of the sponsors of the festival.  Being interviewed with other directors and hearing about their films has been for me one of the highlights of the festival so far.  Festivals are about interacting with the audiences, yes, but these are also opportunities to meet and discuss our work with our colleagues.

Perhaps because most of us that were being interviewed were directors, we almost seemed to take over the interviews at some points, asking each other and even the DJs questions.  Some of the other filmmakers I had the honour of being interview with were:

Purna Singh Baraily, chairperson of the Human Rights Film Center in Nepal.  Purna has brought with him the short documentary film "Khaati Sunn" that was produced in workshop with his Human Rights Centre.  The documentary was made by and about women in rural Nepal, and screens Saturday and Sunday (more here)

Charlie, Gage, director, "Inspired, the Voices Against Prop 8".  Charlie's feature documentary is about Proposition 8, the law that would ban the recently passed order to allow same-sex marriage in California in 2008.  Charlie shared how his film was born almost by accident and that much of the early footage of the protest marches was shot on a $60 digital camera set to 'movie mode'.   I had the honour of attending the screening of "Inspired" tonight and it struck me how universal this film is; yes, on one level it is about gay marriage, but it is very much about an individual's rights and how the laws in a country affects each of us.  After the film, a woman in the audience shared her own story about how her marriage with a man of a different race would have been outlawed in this country until just relatively recently.  The film screens again Thursday, and I highly recommend it.  (more here)

Brad Rothschild, director, "Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald".  "Kinderblock" follows four men, who as boys were imprisoned in the same concentration camp, as they return to commemorate the 65th anniversary of their liberation.  I also had the honour of attending the screening of this feature documentary that was held tonight at the Holocaust Center.  During the opening of the film, the four elderly men are given flip cameras to record video diaries of their memories and their preparations to return to the concentration camp where they had been held so many years ago.  As they were given these cameras to use and taught how to use them, the tears started flowing and never stopped.  A truly powerful film.  The film screens again on Thursday and is not to be missed.  (more here)

Jonathon Eason and Chris Ramsey, producers, "Marching to Sanford", a short documentary film which follows a group of students as they march in protest of the Trayvon Martin shooting.  Jonathon and Chris remarked on how the use of cell phone cameras and modern technology was putting the power back in the hands of the activists and how they were actually 'scooping' news reports that would traditionally have been picked up (or not) and controlled by mainstream media.  (more here)

Steve Roese and Shawn Small, director/ producer, "Ru: Water is Life", a short documentary about the importance of water in the life of the people of South Sudan through the eyes of a little girl.  The film documents a very important week in the life of the little girl, whose days are spent on one task: fetching water for her family.  For the first few days, Shawn documents her life of walking several kilometers to get water, which which she then carries back on her head, continues as it has for years.  A well is then drilled near her home by a local Sudanese company established by Steve (an American).  How will having  abundant safe water, a necessity that so many of us take for granted, change her life?  I look very much look forward to the film's screening on Thursday.  (more here)

It was an amazing experience to meet these guys and hear about their work.  At one point the DJ interviewing us complimented us on the wide variety of topics that our films cover.  But as I stated in the beginning of this post, this reflects not on us as filmmakers; after all, there are films in the world about almost everything.  The wide variety of films here is the result of the careful curation that Peace Film Festival undergoes in order to bring the audiences an amazing and ecclectic collection of films.

Before coming here, I realize that I had thought that "peace" was something much more narrow than it is.  Now I know that peace is only narrow when we allow it to be.

Off to the cinema...

The sun sets, peace rises

I arrived in Orlando tonight, and we touched down during a beautiful sunset.

After being picked up by festival volunteer @mikkimouth I hit the ground running and we rushed from the airport directly to Peace Film Festival's opening film, "The Zen of Bennett".

"The Zen of Bennett" is a beautiful documentary which weaves interviews with Tony Bennett along with studio recordings of Tony singing with some of the world's most talented singers.  

One of the most poignant scenes in the film is when Tony records with Amy Winehouse, who is now deceased.  Prior to the recording, he very candidly talks about his intention to give her advice to get off drugs.  And their recording together is electric.

At 85, Tony is in top form. And perhaps because the film was produced by his son, and he is mostly surrounded by his children (his manager, his photographer, and even his opening act singer are all his kids), he seems relaxed and generally off-guard, offering up the kind of intimate details that perhaps he wouldn't have shared had the film been made by "strangers".

The film screens again at Peace Film Festival on Friday (screening information here) and will be theatrically released this autumn (film's website is here).

Coming soon...

The Global Peace Film Festival (website) begins in just a few days (Sept 18-23), and I am busy preparing for the trip to Orlando.  More good news is coming in daily, among which was an invitation to speak with students enrolled in the "Media, Peace and Justice" course at Rollins College.  It is such an honour to be a part of the Global Peace Film Festival and the greater outreach programs it has established in the wider community.

new postcards for "In the Grey Zone"

In the beginning of October, the European premier of "In the Grey Zone" will take place in Camera Japan (website) in Rotterdam, Holland (October 4-7).  Camera Japan has just announced its full line-up of films (here), and it is truly humbling to be included in such a beautifully curated lineup.

***** updated ****

There was a nice mention of "In the Grey Zone" in the September 13th edition of the Orlando Sentinel (here).

What will your last words be?

When my friend Kazuko found out she was dying, there was nothing I could do.  We would just sit and talk for hours.  Early on, I realized the things she wanted to talk about were changing, as was the way she was talking about them.

I asked her if she wanted to document her journey, and she said yes.

So I began filming Kazuko that day, and I filmed her until the day she died.

The film we made is called "minus1287", and the title refers to the number of days Kazuko lived from the first day we filmed together.

On April 25th, I posted this blog (here) about the filming I had been doing quietly in the background during the past four years.  I had just finished editing the trailer for the film that I was tentatively calling "-1287".

I realized this could also be read as "negative1287", so to eliminate confusion, I've since decided to call it "minus1287".

The 'fine cut' of the film is now finished, and I have begun the long process of submitting "minus 1287" to festivals.  The website for the film, created by my friend Katsuyoshi Ueno,  is now up and running as well (here).  Ueno-san is also the amazing photographer behind the breath-taking photograph "little girl with face mask" that I am using in the promotional materials for my documentary "In the Grey Zone" (the photograph can be seen here).

We don't know which will be our last words until they are spoken.

What will your last words be?

www.minus1287.com

$22 yogurt AND no more merry Christmases?!

National Azabu supermarket (website here) with its wide selection of imported foods has been in the centre of the foreign community in the Hiroo neighbourhood of Tokyo since the 1960's.  

National Azabu is so much a part of the foreign community, that when I decided to film the evacuation of the expat population after last year's earthquake and nuclear disaster, the Hiroo neighbourhood, and specifically around National Azabu, is where I went.  That documentary, where I even met and interviewed an ambassador's wife while she ventured out for supplies, can be seen here:

National Azabu's already aging building was damaged further in last year's earthquake, and it was subsequently closed, demolished, re-built and has just held its grand re-opening.  I received the flyer in Friday's paper and one thing in particular caught my eye:  Total Greek Yogurt.  I LOVE Greek yogurt, and it is one of the things that you just can't find here and for which there is no real replacement.

But wait!  A quick look at the fine print reveals that... the yogurt costs ¥1,750 ($22 US dollars).  Surely that must be a misprint, I thought.  So I went to National Azabu today to find out.

First, the building is now a boring, modern pre-fabricated looking thing just plunked down next to the street.  Where before it had character and the complex housed a lovely little flower shop with a tree growing right through the roof that you walked past, now it is just the Tokyo-business-version of a double-wide trailer.  The decorations at the flower shop at Halloween and Christmas had been such a nostalgic joy to walk past and part of the "National Azabu Experience".  Now, an unimaginative flower shop has been incorporated directly into the grocery store itself.  

With so many more stores (both physical and online) offering foreign foods and products, the thing that had set National Azabu apart, its ambiance, is gone.  Modern, yes.  Still worth a day trip for the "National Azabu experience"?  No. 

Inside, the aisles seem more narrow than before (is that even possible?), the food selection seems more limited (did they decrease floor space in order to have more parking?  It appears that way.) and the prices seem even higher (and they weren't cheap to begin with).

I ventured over to the dairy aisle to find the Greek yogurt and to give National Azabu a chance to redeem itself by proving that the $22 price was a misprint.

I quote my tweet from today: "It's true. ¥1,750 for Greek yogurt or ¥218 for domestic! I wouldn't buy $22 yogurt even if it was my f'ing b-day." 

Way to go, National Azabu!  You completely sanitized, pasteurized and modernized one of the institutions of ex-pat life in Tokyo.  You took away what used to be turned into a Christmas village in December, something that made us so warm and fuzzy that we didn't even mind paying exorbitant prices for Christmas treats and decorations.  

In its place, you have given us $22 yogurt in a pre-fabricated double-wide trailer.  Genius.

******** update September 4 ********

My sister, Amanda, just sent me this photo from her local grocery store in the US.  The yogurt is $3.99!  I know it must cost a lot of money to import perishable goods, so one might expect an imported product to cost 2 or 3 times as much as "back home".  But more than 5 times?!

Peace and love and... nuclear power.

The screening dates and times have just been confirmed for the participation of my doc "In the Grey Zone" (website) in the 2012 Global Peace Film Festival (September 18-23 in Orlando, Florida).

Filming "In the Grey Zone" taught me a lot, and it continues to bring me new experiences.  The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) was the first time for one of my films to be shown in the country where I was born, the USA!  

Since this is the first time one of my films has dealt so specifically with an issue of human rights, the Global Peace Film Festival (GPFF) will be the first time for one of my films to be invited to one of the many human rights-themed festivals (here). 

And October will bring yet another first.  When "In the Grey Zone" screens in the Camera Japan Festival (website) in Holland, it will be the first time I will be recognized as the director of a Japanese film and have my work shown in a collection of films made solely by Japanese directors.

No place like home (in the kitchen)

I got back home to Tokyo from my trip to the US and hit the ground running: within 48 hours I was on a bullet train to Tochigi to film episode 3 of my cooking show "Ian's Kitchen" (website).  

The first part of each show is a short documentary where we go to the farmer's market and ask them to introduce us to the farmer who grew whatever fruit or vegetable we are featuring in that episode.  Then we go to meet the farmer and film with them in their field.  

We have so much fun with this part of the show and always meet such wonderful people!  Then we get the FRESHEST produce available (picked right then and there):

For the second part of the show, I am joined in the kitchen by MC and co-host, Daichi Takanezawa.  Here we are about to start filming:

After the cooking, which is usually a mess and always hilarious, comes the eating part!

In the desert

It was an intense week in Rhode Island.

There was a meeting of old friends and the making of new ones.

There was a professional triumph, and there was a personal tragedy.

Before returning home to Japan, I have come to the desert of New Mexico for a few days to sort out my thoughts. 

It may be my first time in the desert, but it is not the first time I have been in this state of mind.

RIIFF Award Ceremony at the Vets

The Rhode Island International Film Festival has come to a close in style at the beautiful historic theatre The Vets.

With so many films wonderful films, it was exciting to learn which films would receive honours and to hear the names of new friends being called out and awarded.

Among my new friends that were awarded are:

BEST EXPERIMENTAL

GRAND: Fraction | Alain Delannoy, Canada, 2012

DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD

Presented to a director whose outstanding work on a first short or feature film represents a new unique and compelling vision that will resonate well into the future

• Calcutta Taxi | Vikram Dasgupta, Canada/ India, 2012

“HELPING HAND” INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Given annually to a film or filmmaker that inspires social change, community outreach and strives for
bettering the world in which we live.
• StandUp | Louis McCullagh, Ireland, 2012

And I was deeply honoured to hear my name called as the recipient of the "2012 Filmmaker of the Future Award"!

 

FILMMAKER OF THE FUTURE AWARD

Presented to a filmmaker whose vision excites audiences and judges alike about the potential to produce compelling and successful films in the future
Gurei Zoun No Naka (In the Grey Zone) | Ian Thomas Ash, Japan, 2012

It feel so honoured to simply have been screened at the RIIFF, and to receive an award as well is truly humbling.  In addition, I am thrilled that some of my family was able to attend the screening as well.

The full list of awards can be found here. 

Awesome Films at RIIFF!!!

Including short films, I have seen over 40 films at RIIFF this week!  RIIFF is curated beautifully, and there is no hit or miss; all the films are amazing!

Some highlights:

StandUp, directed by Louis McCullagh

Calcutta Taxi, directed by Vikram Dasgupta

Attachments, directed by Peter Mabrucco

Fraction, directed by Alain Delannoy

Honorable Mentions

A very big thank you for the shout out (click the banner below) that the Providence Journal has given the RIIFF screening of "In the Grey Zone".  I can't wait for their screening "Coming Home" tomorrow!

And in today's Watertown Daily Times (the paper of the town in Upstate New York where I was born) published this article (click the banner below) about my film work in Fukushima.  

Not sure why they used the terrible file photo of me.  I don't even remember that mug shot being taken...

Europoean Premier Confirmed: Camera Japan!

Driving in the car with my sister on Tuesday on the way to RIIFF, I received an e-mail with some more awesome news:  "In the Grey Zone" has been invited to hold its European Premier at the Camera Japan festival in Holland in November!

According to their website (here), Camera Japan is "a Japanese cultural festival with its main focus on film that also dives into other areas like art, music, dance, fashion, architecture, food and many more. The annual event takes place each fall in several cities in The Netherlands."

 

Opening Night at RIIFF!

We arrived in Rhode Island yesterday afternoon for the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF).  Festival registration at the Renaissance (swish!), Opening Night at the Vets (swank!) followed by an after party on the stage of the Vets (chic!).  

A wonderful start to the World Premier of "In the Grey Zone" (on Saturday)!

At opening night with my lovely assistant (read: "sister") Amanda.

"In the Grey Zone" poster in the background!

A bit of respite for Fukushima children

From time to time over the past year and a half, some people have said to me, "Oh, I wish I could bring the children living in Fukushima over here (the US, Australia, the UK...).

A friend (@kueno44) just sent me this article about a program to bring 30 children from Namie, Fukushima to Prague for two weeks of rest, relaxation and sightseeing.

Namie is where I filmed Part 4 of "In Containment".

Fearing discrimination, no full names, please

An article in today's Japan Times ("Kids' safety key worry in Fukushima" by Natsuko Fukue)  describes the continuing fear that Fukushima residents continue to have for their children.  They fear for the future health of their children and for the potential discrimination they may receive simply for having been residents of Fukushima.

One of the things that really stood out to me in the article and says something very poignant about the fear of discrimination was that while some of those interviewed declined to be identified at all, others would only allow themselves to be identified by their family name.  None were identified by their full name.

(via @kueno44)

Rhode Island International Film Fest details

As the opening of the Rhode Island International Film Festival nears (August 7-12), the Herald News of Massachusetts published details about the festival in yesterday's edition.  Click the screen grab below to read the article:

New guest blog published by Discovery News

Today Discovery News published my guest blog, "Fukushima Nuclear Ghost Town's Secrets Revealed".  The article and accompanying short documentaries can be found here.

I am honoured to receive this support and encouragement and am grateful for the exposure that this gives not only to my work but also to the issues that continue to plague Fukushima.

Back to the US*

I'm off today to the US for a couple of weeks to visit family and friends, and of course, to attend the World Premier of "In the Grey Zone" at the 30th annual Rhode Island International Film Festival (August 7-11).

More information on the festival screening can be found on the film's festival page here.

*SR not included in this trip.

Nice article, bad photo editing

Jefferson Community College (JCC) in Watertown, New York, from which I graduated in 1998, has just published a very nice article about my film work since March 2011 in their quarterly alumni magazine "Jefferson Insider".

A downloadable PDF version of the magazine can be found here, and the article is on page 25.  

The article is accompanied by an old photo of me that I have no idea how they got their hands on (why didn't they just ask me to send them a HQ resolution recent photo?).  The photo it is uncredited (it was taken in Croatia five years ago during a film festival where one of my previous films was screened), and it appears that they have edited it in such a way as to completely blur out my face (!).  Um, should I read something into that?

Here it is:

Posting the Poster

The posters just arrived for the World Premier of my doc "In the Grey Zone".  For more information about the screenings, please click the poster below: