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[Table of Contents] ◆ Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Participants (3 projects / 5 filmmakers) |
The Yamagata Documentary Dojo is an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program that invites filmmakers developing new documentary projects to stay for an extended period in Yamagata Prefecture—sometimes called the spiritual home of Asian documentary filmmaking—and deepen their work through international exchange.
For documentary filmmakers, editing the footage after shooting is a decisive stage that determines the direction of a film. This program provides the time and environment needed to fully engage in that critical process.
Three Core Principles
1. Reflect
Step away from everyday life and revisit works in progress with fresh eyes in a focused environment.
2. Connect
Deepen mutual understanding through interaction with fellow filmmakers from abroad, film professionals, and local residents.
3. Deepen
Present projects during the “Ran-Geiko” workshop and discover new perspectives through open discussion.
For its seventh edition, the program welcomed five filmmakers working on three projects in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Japan. The residency began with an intensive four-day workshop, where participants exchanged ideas with mentors and three other filmmakers. The remainder of the residency allowed each filmmaker to concentrate on their own project.
This year saw especially active engagement with the local Hijiori community, strengthening both community connections and collaboration among participants.
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Program Information
Dates: January 29 – March 2, 2025 (33 days)
Workshop (“Ran-Geiko”): January 31 – February 4, 2025
Locations:
• Hijiori Onsen, Okura Village, Yamagata Prefecture
• Yamagata Prefectural International Exchange Association Training Room
• Yamagata City Central Public Hall
• Yamagata Documentary Film Library
Organizer: Documentary Dream Center
★ Supported by a grant from SARTRAS (Society for Administration of Remuneration for Public Transmission for Educational Purposes).
Sponsor: Tokyo Docs (NPO)
Special Cooperation: Orion’s Belt; CSC Co., Ltd.
Cooperation: Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Hijiori District of Okura Village, Okura Village Tourism Association, Hijiori Onsen Ryokan Association, Vietnamese Association in Yamagata
Support: Yamagata Prefecture; Okura Village
Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Participants
Participants:
● Took part in a four-day workshop with mentors and short-term participants.
● Engaged in extensive project presentations, discussions, lectures, screenings, and social gatherings.
● Held individual consultations with mentors.
● Spent the latter half of the residency revisiting and editing their projects while drawing inspiration from the hot springs and local community.
● Organized a film screening for the Vietnamese community in Yamagata.
● Participated in screenings and community events in Yamagata City.
● Presented their work at the public “Yamagata Documentary Dojo 7 Final Presentation.”
Moon Is Watching You
Five years after Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-extradition bill protests, this essay film reconstructs memory through archival fragments and collaborative writing with a poet. The project reflects on global struggles for democracy and the sense of loss experienced by Hong Kong people today.
“Do not be afraid. The moon will show you the way home.”
Director: MA Chi-hang (Machi)
Producer: Catherine CHAN
Nostalgia for the Land
After the Vietnam War, a family migrated to Vietnam’s Central Highlands and developed coffee plantations in search of a better life. Through the lives and choices of three generations working on the family farm, the director explores how her family navigated Vietnam’s transition from a socialist economy to a market-oriented one.
Director: PHAM Thi Hao
Producer: TRINH Dinh Le Minh
Ambiguous Loss
Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, the Watanabe family has lived as evacuees. They ultimately gave up returning to Namie, closed their family printing business, demolished their home, and built a new one elsewhere.
The film follows the nearly 100-year-old Tetsu, her son Takamasa, and her daughter-in-law Shigeko as the story touches on issues like care for the elderly, relocation, family conflicts, and Tetsu’s passing. Accompanied by Shigeko’s diary documenting life in evacuation, the film portrays the struggles of three individuals seeking to live true to themselves in the aftermath of the nuclear accident.
Director: YAMADA Toru
Ran-Geiko (Workshop) Participants
Over four days, participants presented works in progress and developed their projects through discussion and critique.
TANAKA Yume (Tokyo)
We Were Family
KAWASHIMA Yuki (Tokyo)
36.3
NAKAMURA Kota (Kyoto)
From the Exhibition Hall
Mentors
The mentors supported participants through workshops, lectures, and one-on-one meetings.
HATA Takeshi (Film Editor and Producer, Toyonaka)
Oskar ALEGRIA (Filmmaker, Pamplona, Spain
KIM Dong-ryung (Filmmaker, Seoul, South Korea)
PARK Kyoung-tae (Filmmaker, Seoul, South Korea)
WATANABE Yuichi (Film Distribution and Publicity, Tokyo)
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Ran-Geiko Workshop (January 31 – February 3) A four-day intensive workshop in Hijiori Onsen featuring project presentations, master classes, discussions, and practical exercises. |
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Movie Night (February 3) Participants and mentors watched earlier works by the fellows and discussed their filmmaking journeys and future directions. |
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Individual Meetings (February 4) Fellows met individually with mentors to discuss their projects in depth. |
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Moving Between Inns (February 4, 10, 18, and 22) Fellows stayed in five different inns throughout the residency. This arrangement encouraged interaction with locals and allowed the filmmakers to experience a range of living quarters. |
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Movie Night (February 7) |
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Community Yoga Class (February 13) Led by Catherine Chan. Six local residents participated. |
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Movie Night (February 14) A screening selected by Hao of an older Vietnamese film, followed by discussion of Vietnam’s social history, censorship, and filmmaking. |
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Screening for the Vietnamese Community in Yamagata (February 16) Held at Kajō Central in Yamagata City in collaboration with the Vietnamese Association in Yamagata (MSY). |
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Movie Night (February 18) Ballad on the Shore |
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Movie Night (February 19) Screening of a new edit of Ambiguous Loss |
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Project Analysis Workshop (February 20) A close analysis of Yamada’s project with workshop coordinator Catherine Chan and producer Kato Shigeko (joining online from Tokyo). |
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Community Yoga Class (February 20) Eleven participants, including visitors staying in local inns. |
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Movie Night (February 21) After the Snow Melts |
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Snow-Digging Competition World Cup (February 23) Participants entered Hijiori’s famous snow-digging competition as Team “Dojo Yaburi” (“Dojo Challengers”). |
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Public Movie Night (February 26) At Hijiori Center: |
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Working on the Films Throughout the residency, participants concentrated on writing, structuring, and editing their projects.
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Progress Presentations (February 7, February 14, February 27) Participants periodically shared updates and supported one another’s progress. |
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International Exchange Event (February 28) Organized by the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. |
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Screening in Yamagata City (March 1) As part of YIDFF’s Friday Screening Series: |
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Yamagata Documentary Dojo 7 Final Presentation (March 1) The five long-term participants presented their experiences and reflections using photographs and videos recorded during the residency. |
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FACES Yamagata Five participants created short films using smartphones and other devices during their stay in Hijiori Onsen. |
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Yamagata Shimbun “Asian Filmmakers Gather for ‘Ran-Geiko'” (February 1, 2025)
Yamagata Shimbun News Analysis “Creating a Place Where a ‘Film City’ Can Take Root” (February 16, 2025)
“At a time when interest in documentary filmmaking is rising—illustrated by two Japanese documentaries being nominated for this year’s Academy Awards—the Dojo and film festival provide an excellent opportunity to showcase Yamagata. Fujioka says, ‘I hope Yamagata becomes not only a place where films are watched, but also a place where films are created.’ Community involvement is essential to building Yamagata as a city of film.”
Participant recruitment flyer (Japanese, B5 color) 、Promotional information card (business-card size)
Participant and project booklet (B5, 30 pages, Japanese/English)、Various event flyers (produced by YIDFF)
Documentation Videos
Short (2 min)
Long (23 min)
Video by Fukuhara Yusuke
Reflections from Participants and Mentors
・Deepening a film means confronting life itself, and vice versa. The Dojo was not simply a place for technical instruction or criticism, but a place where people supported one another in enriching both filmmaking and life.
・I was losing confidence, decisiveness, and faith in my film. The encouragement I received from fellow filmmakers helped me regain the strength to continue.
・It is an ideal environment for reexamining both filmmaking and ways of living. Sharing time and space with filmmakers from different countries rekindles creative energy and provides new perspectives.
・I was inspired by documentary practices that acknowledge the camera’s presence and create films collaboratively with subjects. I hope to apply this approach in future work.
・Even now, it feels almost unreal, like a dream.
・Far from crowds, online communication, and daily distractions, Hijiori offered the luxury of spending entire days contemplating documentaries and unanswerable questions.
・During production, there are doubts and anxieties I often keep to myself. Ran-Geiko provided a safe space where those concerns could be voiced and explored together.
・I was amazed by how much only four days of exchange with fellow filmmakers could transform me.
・This experience will undoubtedly become an emotional foundation for my future work.
・Through living, eating, bathing, and walking together, we gradually learned to understand one another beyond words.
・Returning to the origins of creativity has become a lasting source of motivation.
・I was able to rethink and rewrite my script and structure with support from colleagues.
・My project’s focus became clearer, and I learned to position it within broader historical and global contexts.
・I gained clarity about how to present the project for future funding opportunities and crowdfunding.
・I received specific and decisive advice from fellow editors and producers.
・Watching many films together broadened my understanding of documentary possibilities.
・Recognizing my own limitations allowed me to reevaluate my work through the eyes of others.
・The film’s structure and direction are now clear; what remains is the editing itself.
・Language barriers never prevented us from feeling close to the people of Hijiori.
