6:30 PM: An introduction and screening of Soda Kazuhiro's Oyster Factory (2015)

9:30PM : A conversation with Soda Kazuhiro

All events will be screened live on video: https://vimeo.com/event/227238

The 2020 Japan Documentary Film Award program will launch with the screening of guest judge and filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda’s filme the Oyster Factory (Kaki Kouba, (2015)), His seventh feature-length documentary, charts the struggles of the oyster producing community of Ushimado as the industry clashes with population decline and the entrance of foreign workers. At once an exploration of individual human labor and of the massive effect of the Anthropocene, Oyster Factory charts human lives lived on the margins. His intimate portraits reveal larger issues at play in Japan: economic anxiety and struggles over immigration. The film’s empathetic portrayal of its central figures effectively captures the hopes and fears of an industry growing older, and what that means for future Japan. The screening will be held on Thursday September 24 at 6:30 pm EDT on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/event/227238