YIDFF Network Special Screenings
Screenings organized by the YIDFF Network
Masuya Shuichi and Masuya Shoko from the Network had their first experience of an overseas film festival last September, when they attended as individuals the Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2000, a festival with strong links to our own. The two saw several works, most of them Taiwanese new releases, and decided they would like to see some of these shown at the Yamagata Festival. Some will be screened as part of New Asian Currents, and The Lost Honor of Mountain will be shown as a part of YIDFF Network Special Screenings. Several other works have also been selected, and arranged into two compilations.
Compilation 1 “Memories of the Asian War (The Forgotten People)”
During Japan’s wartime invasion of Asia, people from many Asian nations were conscripted and sent to battle as Japanese soldiers, and sometimes as so-called “comfort women”. Even now, 50 years after the end of the war, there is a split in the recognition of Japanese history, economic compensation remains insufficient, and many simply attempt to bury the past. Japan has a very long way to go if it ever wants to become a member of the international community in the true sense. Now, at a time when conflict seems imminent, these films remind us that there are some things we must never forget.
The Lost Honor of Mountain
TAIWAN / 2000 / Mandarin, Taiwanese / Color, B&W / Video / 57 min
Director, Script, Editing: Lin Wan-yu
Photography: Wan Chih-chien
Producer: Cheng Jung-hsion
Production, Source: Public Television Service Foundation, Programming Plannig Dept.
c /o Tim Lay
No.70 Lane 75, Kang-ning Rd., Sec 3, Taipei TAIWAN
Phone: 886-2-2630-1013 Fax: 886-2-2633-8050
E-mail: prg7232@mail.pts.org.tw
Many Taiwanese were sent to battle as soldiers of the Japanese army. While these men voice frustration about what happened, the song they sing while working in the fields is a Japanese one they learned in their youth. The memories of their youth and the scars of war will stay with them forever.
Mardiyem
JAPAN / 2001 / Indonesian / Color / Video / 102 min
Director, Script, Photography, Editing, Sound, Music, Narrator, Producer, Source: Kana Tomoko
E-mail: tomokana@sk9.so-net.ne.jp
Mardiyem, from Indonesia, was taken to be a so-called “comfort woman” by the Japanese Army when she was just thirteen. This is the story of proud Mardiyem’s turbulent life, and of her journey, fifty years later, to Borneo, the former site of the sexual gratification facilities for Japanese soldiers, to revisit her former self.
• YIDFF Network Special Screenings | Compilation 1 “Memories of the Asian War (The Forgotten People)” | The Lost Honor of Mountain | Mardiyem | Compilation 2 “Filming Yamagata” | Good Friends, Good People | Smiles of 108 People |