The 13th episode of WOWOW's film information program " Kento Nakajima Movie Traveler," hosted by Kento Nakajima, will be streamed on WOWOW On Demand on January 1st next year, ahead of its original broadcast. This episode is the final episode of the program's second season. Titled "Japan - Yamagata Edition," it features interviews with people involved in the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (October Getsuku- 16th), one of Asia's largest documentary film festivals, held in Yamagata City.
The festival was founded in 1989 and has a 36-year history as Asia's first international film festival specializing in documentary films. Yamagata City has long been known as a "city of film," and in the 1960s, there were 14 movie theaters within the city, making it a rare city in Japan where movie theaters were built with funding from local volunteers. Carrying on this film culture, the festival is currently supported by a total of over 200 local volunteers.
One of the initiatives to connect the audience with the film is the lobby talk held after the screening, where the audience can ask questions and share their impressions directly with the director, achieving a sense of intimacy that is rare even at film festivals around the world.
This year, a record 2,676 films were submitted from 135 countries and regions. Nakajima will interview three directors of films selected for the "International Competition Section" and the "New Asian Currents Section," which supports Asian documentary filmmakers, as well as festival officials. The program will be titled "Secrets of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival: Towards One of Asia's Largest Documentary Film Festivals," and will broadcast and stream the interviews.
The 13th episode of "Kento Nakajima Movie Traveler" (the final episode of Season 2) will be available on WOWOW On Demand from midnight on January 1st. It will also be broadcast on WOWOW Prime from midnight on the 11th.
◇Comment from Kento Nakajima
The entire city of Yamagata seemed to breathe as if it were a single film. At the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, the warm smiles and careful work of the volunteers made me feel that this city is alive with film. Hearing the words of director Itaru Kato, "Film is a light that connects people," conveyed his sentiment, and it has stayed with me deeply. In conversations with directors Najeeba Nouri, Mallory Eloy-Pesly, and Yui Kiyohara, I was reminded once again of the power of film to share emotions beyond borders and languages. And in the tranquility of the Yamagata Castle ruins, I was enveloped in a moment where the past and present seemed to overlap. I have traveled abroad many times, but I would like to conclude my trip in Japan.
