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16 The Memory of Okinawa (working title)
Japan
Documentary / HD / English / Chinese / Japanese / 120 mins
HARA Kazuo
Director: HARA Kazuo
Producers: HIRASAWA Daisuke, YOKOI Maki
HAF Goals: Funds, Sales agents, Pre-sales
Budget: US$150,000
Secured Budget: US$20,000
Director’s Filmography:
2005 Mata no hi no Chika
1994 A Dedicated Life
1987 The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On
1974 Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974
1972 Goodbye CP
Hara Kazuo, a documentary filmmaker whose celebrated works include The Emperor’s Naked Army
Marches On, creates a new documentary project on Okinawa to summarise his entire career.
Synopsis
The Operations Plan 1-45 Iceberg was carried
out on January 6, 1945. It was initially planned for
Taiwan but took place in Okinawa. The objective
was to secure a military base and sea and air
routes in China and put pressure on Japan. The
plan consisted of 18 clauses including supplying
bombardment and building headquarters as well as
detailed plans for civilian evacuation and protection,
but the plan went through revisions and in the end,
it was deemed civilian casualties were inevitable.
Why did the US military allow such atrocities? Hara
is determined to seek the individuals who hold the
key to this mystery in his final film.
While dissecting Operations Plan 1-45 Iceberg, Hara
also sheds light on the travails of the Okinawan
people. He discovers an old photograph of a
Taiwanese family farming in Okinawa taken over
70 years ago. The family evacuated Okinawa as the
invasion began. Hara begins a journey searching for
the location of the photograph to find out what
happened to the family, encountering survivors and
related parties along the way.
Born in 1945 at the end of Word War II, Hara
Kazuo, a documentary filmmaker whose celebrated
works include The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches
On, A Dedicated Life, and Goodbye CP, turns 70 in
2015. His life parallels the history of post-war Japan
and he believes the issues surrounding Okinawa
epitomize the problems of this nation. The central
issue of the project is an invasion plan of Okinawa
planned by the US military named Operations
Plan 1-45 Iceberg. What exactly happened in the
execution of the invasion plan? Hara is currently
researching available documents and seeking the
individuals who devised the plan.
There have been many anti-war films that depict
Japanese as victims and their ordeals. But Hara’s
aim is to spotlight the psychology of attackers in
Operations Plan 1-45 Iceberg and depict cold,
calculating, and brutal human nature with a touch of
suspense. Hara has successfully depicted larger social
themes in his previous films. And now he tackles the
theme of war itself. What defines a nation? What is
peace? What is a human being?
“I’ve always wanted to make a film about Okinawa.
I wanted to know more about the tragic past and
how it affected the course of history. With this
project, I want to explore how the past connects
with the present and beyond.”
Producers
HIRASAWA Daisuke
Born in 1968. Mainly produced TV programmes. His
first feature documentary Clasico on the Edge was
released in 2011.
YOKOI Maki
Started the career in film distribution and
promotion, YOKOI worked at SPO and Nikkatsu
for several years. She has involved in the production
of M (directed by HIROKI Ryuichi) and Adrift
(directed by MIKI Satoshi) as a producer assistant.
Production Company
Shisso Production
Established in 1972, Shisso Production mainly
produces films directed by HARA Kazuo, including
Goodbye CP (1972) and Extreme Private Eros: Love
Song 1974 (1974). The Emperor’s Naked Army
Marches On (1987) won the numerous awards:
Caligari Film Award at Berlin International Film
Festival, Cinéma du Réel Award, KNF Award at
International Film Festival Rotterdam, and LAFCA
Award of Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film of
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and
more.
It has been 20 years since Hara made a feature
length documentary film and Okinawa could not be
more suitable as a subject that sums up the 70 years
of his life and the history of post-war Japan.
Director
HARA Kazuo
Director and cinematographer HARA Kazuo made
his debut documentary feature Goodbye CP in 1972.
HARA is known for his works Extreme Private
Eros: Love Song 1974 (Kyokushiteki erosu koiuta);
The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (Yukiyukite
shingun) (1987) and A Dedicated Life (Zenshin
shosetsuka) (1994). He also directed Mata no hi no
Chika (2005) which has released nationwide.
Contact
HIRASAWA Daisuke
Shisso Production
1-15-16-202, Shinjyuku, Shinjyuku-city,
Tokyo 160-0022 Japan
Tel: +81-3-3350-7812
Email: [email protected]
YOKOI Maki
Email: [email protected]
HONG KONG - ASIA FILM FINANCING FORUM 2015
HONG KONG - ASIA FILM FINANCING FORUM 2015
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Hara’s history with Okinawa began when he was
around 20 years old and a still photographer.
That was when he met Shigeo Shima, an island
doctor who treated locals who suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and war related stress.
As he listened to the stories told by Shima, Hara
decided to make a film about why the beautiful
Okinawan islands had to suffer war atrocities.
Instead, he made his second feature film in Okinawa,
Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974, which became
a towering achievement in the self-documentary
genre. The film features the on-screen childbirth of
Hara’s ex-wife, who is pregnant with a child of her
lover, a black American soldier. It is a captivating
portrait of how her life becomes entangled in
the history of Okinawa. Now, Hara has chosen
Okinawa as the final stage for his film career.
Director’s Statement
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