AllPots FILMMAKERS JOURNAL a Loe in Sign op RAMILAW! Mart 24 minsead a film festival in Japan Uplate a dey apo AT HOME IN YAMAGATA ‘Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Oct 10th-18th 2019 am here, at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Reached Tokyo a day earlier along with Cui from China and Hind from Canada, both of who I met on the ‘rain, Friendly volunteers met us at various transits, guiding us gently through a long route to hotel Washington in Yamagata! Had some trouble finding vegetarian food in Japan and ‘was famished by the time I reached Tokyo. Ly Pleasant surprise to have our host Toru receive us in Yamagata with a special food packet. Apparenily his colleagues informed him about it while we ‘were on the tain to Yamagata, Bless him and his team! ‘There are films and filmmakers here from Syria, Afganistan, Turkey, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Hungary, Canada, US, Japan et al, There is also the news of a strong typhoon named Hagibis heading towards Japan. Hind is paranoid and wants to be home with her kids! being the strongest in sixty years, she tells, google-wise, The thought of Yamagata being the last festival we may attend infiltrates our conversation. The lack of concera regarding the matter amor ‘our hosts puzzles us for a while, until subsequent announcements in Citizen's hall bout the protocol in the scenario of an earthquake, help calm things. Here itis lke those everyday announcements we have for switching off the mobiles or not bringing in food. They live here withthe awareness of nature's force and fury and have learnt to prepare for it.we may afterall survive Hagibis, alongwith everyone else, I tell Hind. I promise to miiself to report from Yamagata on Cinema if I do! Here I go: s estimated as “This is mi first time in Japan. I see the Japanese do not rush in and out of screenings. They don't talk {in theatres and do not walk on the road drinking coffee nor coke out of plastic cups and bottles. We are hard put to find garbage or bins on the roads. Is a while before Hind spots a designated street ashtray.\ewsAm here 10 show mil yiniiim At Home walking ineinthe New Asian Currents program, Inrespective of the location and culture of the countries they hail from, filmmakers from everywhere refer to dark times, It is what iuites the poet-rebel- artist-musician- filmmaker in the face of increasing divides. It is ‘empowering to be in the company of practitioners, each made to feel an outsider in her/his own homeland for speaking the truth hiding in plain sight, The erises Everywhere, aross films without ‘exception are man-made, if variously flavoured with the local socio-economic-cultural-poitical climate; wailed by a variety of quasi religious, quasi ideological tropes as the case may b Iranian, Indian, Syrian, Chinese, Brazilian, Turkish etal American, Nevertheless. One believes Ar is ritical human practice, The more its pushed under ground, the stronger foree it gathers, We have enough evidence. Vincent Van Gogh's Irises in cafe Logjan (Creative practice rooted in the search for beauty& truth i critical because it promises to take you to a place in yourself, where you may experience the world as One. There are costs, Yet I'd rather be here, than anywhere else. Abbas Kiarostami says it his way- lie has a kind of truth,on ¥ \yst0.00 am wwarinsee RAT erty ker Hassan Ewesloflas os fecoihrglin the + che Bnd. Filmmaker Fazii Kohn iba Marge of making a film about Ta cgommander, makes a3 yearlong escapade through Tajikistan, Turkey, Bulgaria and S biog With his wife Fatima Husseini also a filmmaker and their two daughters Nargis and tells ofthe farmily's hard run for survival, shot entirely on smart phones. All four name for cinematography. The synopsis ofthe fikm is urgent enough. But itis the way in which a nea blind journeys naratve builds itself through poignant ellipses that carries it gracefully beyond its premise. ‘The seamless intermingling ofthe personal and political is too real tobe only specific, In the uncertain ‘moment of a migrant future looming large and clear over the world populace it cannot be only a Fz story. Before his intrepid escapade from the certainty of annihilation in Afganistan into an uncertain future for his entre family, Hassan Fazili was running an Art cafe in Kabul destroyed by Taliban. The bright smiles, laughter unmixed with tor and the only too human teats ofthe two litle girls wash ‘over mii as I wonder what film has to do wit its premise or why someone must make a film at the risk of life? Painting from a students’ exhibition of Tohoku University of Art & Design, ongoing atthe cafe. z : In many films the hard choices & challenges are visible. I wonder When was it nota hard time for the real artist-poet? Going by the entertainment and propaganda value sociely seems o have assigned. singularly to Cinema and the way it has consigned Poetry to the margins, it may be considered @ 4 harmless activity. History however, tells another story, In all times and places, Authors, Artists, Filmmakers, Singers, Dancers have continued to face bans, punishment, exile, We know of those prosecuted, exiled, killed for making a film, poem, novel or song; murders disguised as encounters or accidents are not unfamiliar. Its invariably the inner freedom embodied by the creator and manifested by her/his creation that spells trouble. Albert Lamourisse’s french film Red Balloon made in 1962 is a fine allegory of how a free being, whatif-a-balloon, stands to threaten the system, Perhaps everyone knows how difficult it isto be free in the true sense ofthe word, There are hidden costs, Besides, oneHOMnay find oneself standing with Truth, all by oneself: Artist is aware there is no conge FLvsspeak unafraid, fee; that even witen it seems like, it ought not to be trusted. 140 pap™ad filmschool ‘The Japanese audiences seem films very carefully as is rfle “Their attention to detail is tou ‘Yamagata is where mii film Premiere-a festival that consciously stays away from the infantile culture of putting @ premium on Premieres, Its joy to experience a festival of films Intemational in spirit and Asian at core, Yamagata feels intimate to mii, much like Cinema. I meet people in cinemas, street comers n cafes, coming up to mii to tell their impressions of mii film, other films, It is a privilege to hear audiences respond with such close attention to different kinds of films. Makes mil curious about the long history of Yamagata IDFF and the story of how it has kept the sprit of its founding figure Ogawa Shinzuke breathing. ‘There are people from so many nationalities, languages, cultures gathered here. The blank screen lighting up inthe darkness of the hall unites us al, even if for a while. Watching films from across the lobe, itis plain how oppressive regimes everywhere talk one language while their poet-atists talk another. Irrespective of which part of the world we come from, we speak each other's language. Amir Naderi the Iranian filmmaker living in exile in Japan now, says ‘there are few festivals that make filmmakers, Yamagata is onc’, He is introducing films from the curated section Reality and Realism: Iran 60s-80s which include defining new wave filmmakers like Bahram Beizai, Sohrab ‘Shahid Satess, Forough Farrokhzad, Khosrow Sinai, Kamran Shirdel, Abbas Kiarostami and himself. ‘Most ofthe films in the package have been buried long in probibitions and bans for various reasons, all in some way seem linked to the idea of a threat to the nation’s image. As we speak about itn 2019, Tran contemporary filmmakers Bahman Kiarostami of Exodus and Arash Asaghi of Gravefully ironically struggle with the newest economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the US. Apparently the programme coordinator Kato Hatsuyo had a hard time getting the films across. She shares with us ‘what for her especially connects Yamagata to Iran - Plums! Whenever she eats one, the stew made ‘with plums by friends in Iran is evoked. Thanks to these friends, the films we are seeing now have gotten across the border: lam attending such @ lovingly put together international festival in an age ‘A pavement of an old street of Yamagata, once lined with einema halls. ‘There are curious metal etchings on the street I stumble upon in mii morning walk. These are brass plates set in the stone pavement beneath mii feet depicting what looks like # history of Cinema, ‘The street once used to be dotted with fi theatres, Rimiko explains later, She is a volunteer, interested in cinema and studying to become an interpreter! translator. She has also translated for aHOMapanese animation film, premiering shortly in Tokyo. rus ort atm stint ca AM ab ete fat meal ‘sc#098ay to Japan to watch, It was film in the making through the critical transition of th blog Power ftom the Sha tothe Islamic revolution that changed the face of the county fo ‘without igniting its artstpoets. It was his first feature film, independent of the estwh, ‘Kanun and has the matk of the genius. Its the independent witness status Kiarostami assigns to the ‘camera that distinguishes his Looking; as if in his hands camera becomes a being with conscience, Like Chekhoy, he seem to see the artist-writer’s role as a lawyer presenting a case to the audience for judgement while her/himself reftaining from passing verdict, Kiarostami uses the camera to probe, question, analyze, reflect, problematise by opening up the seams of a nuanced discourse. He uses the ‘camera's presence to do what cannot be achieved without it and brings out a molecular reality as under a microscope, Its hard to believe an experiment of this nature can reveal so much about the whole picture if one has not seen it happen in front of one's eyes A simple school classroom event ends up turning critical evidence of a most complex nature with roots running deep in the sad predicament of a human world of rewards and punishments, Presenting ‘you with two scenarios, the filmmaker problematizes forever the very bases ofthe adult binaries of ‘good/bad moral conduct, individual freedom, collective responsibility, solidarity, justice, war n peace. ‘As arguments are made from all sides, the fallacy of taking sides, and the logie of choosing one over the other fall away. Its thrilling to see the painter diseard pure colours from his palette in favour of the ‘broken tones in as early a work as this. And I keep returning to his films for the myriad broken tones. Much like in Nature, n the Kiarostami world too, there is no absolute black nor white. If there was any, in your world, it just may have no use anymore, The urge to take sides, judge wrong from right, gets sort of disabled for good. Again, the reftain- why does one make a film? Ipm Vivek/ Reason by Anand Patwardhan, a 4 hour Iong film with two intervals means that I miss all films that day [can catch it back in India, But what of the experience of watching Anand Patwardhan in Japan? Maharashtra has always intrigued mii with its peculiar blend of orthodoxy and reform; blind faith and reason, suppression and rebellion. Anand builds a case in his film in favour of reason, albeit, through an ideological lens. n a bid to reason with the rise ofa militant Hindutva politics, the director builds a handbook recounting stories of some very disturbing ineidents of recent times; the premeditated killings of rationalists unfold in detailed chapters Magged by the reconstructed recurring ‘motif of masked-armed motorcyclists on a killing spree, Itis informative, investigative, educative in the way a film setting out to set the truth before you in the documentary way, seeks to. The Hemant Karkare part ofthe investigation and the woman attorney speaking about it is stunning and one can't holp thinking of the word 'courage' as being synonymous with this woman, When the man who wrote "Who killed Karkare'talks about the police system and mentions the word ‘informer’ it connects in a strange way with Kiarostami’s film I saw in the morning on how solidarity, spying, punishment, discipline, culture of creating informers, surveillance- is where ital bins. Hindus and Muslims ‘uniting gainst the freedom of women in front of dargal Haji Ali is dark comedy, The anger of the filmmaker reaches mii through the film, It frightens mil to see what a people can become, feeling secure with their child inthe safekeep of pedophiles, their son as crusader in the brigade of hate and ‘women in the service of mock sanyasins. Is this India? Yes, itis a palpable & sad part of it. Much like the despair arising in mii at the moment, isa part of mii whole.me, RAJULA te log ‘The word Vivek cartes for mii the dimension of conscience strongly within it, which reason leaves ‘out, Moreover how does one reason withthe unreasonable? Hast't every theology or ideology, reasoning their way got more people killed in the process than the world wars? A pity that the ‘ostensibly noble cause of "bringing people together’, has often ended up creating harder dissension [As one watches the discourse, one can't help being struck by the same colour of the opposing flags in the film- only different shades of red. Coming from a Hindi speaking region, and having spent 2 decade living in Maharashtra in different decades, am struck by a Maharashtra split into Marathi & “Hindi speaking people aligning neatly to the loft & the right, At least the film seems to give an impression of the misguided miscreants belonging to Hindi speaking right & heroes, martyes belonging to the Marathi speaking left. I do not recall language playing out in such neat political binaries in Maharashtra and the implications thereof. ‘Aman in the Q&A asks - "You seem to be pitting Reason against Religion, when you seem actually to ‘mean, Nationalism, It appears to mii more like Nationalists using religion, while they arc not religious themselves..” I would have liked to sit through the discussion but am femished and with @ headache brewing, I must take leave. Hagibis seems to have passed. I walk out in the rain, wondering what is nia’ and who represents it Also if Tam free to not represent it. Is curious when such an amorphous, open-ended concept, of people, civilization morphed into hard, contentious, divisive affliction; how it impacts and implicates all of us. We seem to have landed a rut, with nowhere to go. The harder we struggle, the dooper we descend into the quicksand, 4pm | don't know there is a message box for filmmakers in the YIDFF office where anyone ean leave messages for you, Today I find two, One by Rimiko marking out veg eateries in an incredible hand «drawn Yamagata map! another message about cating options by another friend of the YIDFF who I hhad enquired about eating options.et fae ee . * at ‘the convenience stores) (Mostly open for 24 hours) Priguirt—> Rice ball GB @rvarious filings) phates Bento —> Packet meal 2H (ready meal with-rice ) No BE shall 2 warm youre in ake wietowave?™ = (st takes 0 seconds $01) ¥Np Nek the convenience store) f LAWSON (9 4, Check he variety CHot/2. my med) (eres esee(@ aya) iaperoca guia | Rae 2 Poy money and get an empty paper apy | Sif) ( 3, Set it in the coffee-making machine. |g, Press the button.(The machine f+ mills the coffee beans ond serves your cote). Qns ajo Fark = : Ruins of as Caejh fer etd (hee) Lg Pregectutal | oa HEY Muse! - antot wel a eee shat 4 Fieri Ke Siding ‘Through these I reach few lovely cafes like Logjam & Himalaya offering specially priced meals for the YIDFF festival delegates.ome rus wetness fof Py cme th ON CNet eaered ran ilgaly iow Hokin cI or return to thee counry following Sscvocdureney. tis an example of eamera looking so closely at single part that itreveas ee blo picture Tis another of hose urgent stores oF an uncertain fur reflected through anf thignct experience ofthe world Tt i utious how the caters ineat on stern to th tnirans ts the polis spce ofthe migration office window into mals private spac. The camera in such momens acquires a striking invisibly, making one wonder about the presence of camera and its effect on he paying ou of testimonies. ts dicult say when the people on ether side are performing, admis Bahman, The use o the rap song Exodus, somehow does ad to mi fim experince. Sensitvely mae Film yet mises an insight to transcend the syopsis Spm ‘There is no Iranian new wave without these pioneers says Agha Nader while introducing Sohrab Shahid Saless's film a Simple event (1974). The film unfolds in an ordinary village. Complete with its school, classroom, blackboard, teacher, school inspectors, vegetable shop, river, boat & tavern, it is 2 familiar village where I have never been. I watch the child run from pillar to postin an adult word tsa while before it occurs to mi that Ihave not heard his voice, The child hardly speaks. His mother