Two documentaries completed and successfully premiered!

Eleven months have passed since production began in January, 2021. On December 4th, two documentaries on the theme of “multiculturalism,” co-produced by Japanese and Southeast Asian filmmakers, were finally completed and premiered online. After the screening, the filmmakers from Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam connected online to share their thoughts on the films and the journey to completion.（Watch the recorded event here）

The first film, "I DREAM OF CARING", is about a Filipino woman who works as a caregiver in Nagano Prefecture, and the dreams of others who wish to become caregivers in Japan. At the event, the Japanese director, Atsuko Church of Goolight, a cable TV station in Nagano Prefecture, said that this co-production enabled her to see issues such as nursing care in Japan and the working environment in the Philippines through the eyes of those experiencing them directly and realize the significance of "exchanging perspectives" as the name of the project suggests.

The initial project plan involved inviting Southeast Asian filmmakers to Japan to film and edit with their Japanese partners. But due to the spread of the coronavirus, they were unable to travel, and all production had to be done online.

Kristoffer Brugada from the Philippines, who served as the film’s main director, told us that he faced several challenges during the production: in addition to the infection control measures at the filming location, it was difficult to share video online and the language barrier made editing more complicated. The difference in production methods was particularly significant. As Kristoffer said, in the Philippines it is common for filmmakers not to cram too much information into a film and leave it up to the audience to fill in the blanks. In Japan, on the other hand, creators focus on conveying the details and making sure the audience understands the story. It was difficult for the team to overcome these differences in thinking and find a way to come to terms, but he made some valuable discoveries and learned a lot from this experience.

Vietnam project was a high-wire act

The second film, "AWAY FROM HOME," depicts the emotional bond between a Vietnamese university student in Nagoya and her mother back in Vietnam. Production was completed… the day before the screening. Due to the strict lockdown imposed in Vietnam, the crew was unable to shoot a key scene of the mother working at the market. After several weeks of waiting, the market finally reopened in late October, and the shooting wrapped up in November. With less than a month to go before the screening, the team had to walk a tightrope of editing, subtitling, Japanese translation, and sound adjustment, which gave everyone a stomach full of butterflies.

Amid all this, producer Fuminori Murase of Nagoya Broadcasting Network recalls that the co-production was very stimulating. He says he was particularly struck by the beautiful narrative footage from Vietnam. He also found the setting inspiring. Usually, reports about Vietnamese people living in Japan tend to focus on negative topics such as criminal activity or the disappearance of technical trainees, and rarely address an individual’s background or family relationships. He says that through this “human interest” project, he learned the significance of focusing simply on how this group of people live their lives.

At first, the film was supposed to feature a Vietnamese boy studying at a night school in Nagoya, but during the course of the film, the interview process ran into difficulties. After some twists and turns, the team came up with the current story. During that process, the main director of the project, Nguyen Nhat Duy from Vietnam, and producer Phan Ý Linh, continued to have discussions with Murase about the project’s structure. Such exchanges enabled them to stay creative even during the pandemic. And they expressed their happiness that the project ended successfully and provided them with such an invaluable experience.

Throughout the event, we realized once again that the filmmakers, despite numerous difficulties, were able to engage in the exchange of perspectives that DocCross Asia stands for. We sincerely hope that the two completed films will reach as many people as possible and help them to understand the dreams, hopes, and innermost thoughts of Southeast Asian people living in Japan, and become a steppingstone toward a more diverse society.

From Multiculturalism to Interculturalism

The event also featured a talk session with the creators of four of the films currently available on DocCross Asia Selection.

The moderator was Professor Yamawaki Keizo of Meiji University School of Global Japanese Studies, a leading expert on interculturalism and migration.
The guests were Fuki Kamai, then a journalist at Hokkaido Broadcasting, who produced "Kami-san from Vietnam: The Future of an Inclusive Society" (2019), Producer Yosuke Kiriyama from Aichi Television Broadcasting, who produced "Castaway Kids -Foreign Children Who Can't Go to School" (2019), Director Kenichiro Kuwa from TV Shinshu who produced "Rochman and Eldercare" (2021), and Producer Ken Unoki from Television Nishinippon who created “The Nepalese Person Near You” (2019).

The panelists discussed what their work had taught them about creating a more diverse community. The themes of the programs were wide ranging – including nursing care, technical training, education, and community development. But they shared a common question that we should all ask ourselves: Are we taking an interest in the lives of people from overseas, and are we interacting with them in a sincere manner? They emphasized the importance of listening to the voices of the voiceless and making their issues our own, especially now that the pandemic has taken its toll on human relationships.

Finally, Professor Yamawaki advocated going beyond multiculturalism, which focuses on coexistence, to interculturalism, which emphasizes interaction among people from different cultures, in order to create a more harmonious society. In that sense, he concluded that DocCross Asia was truly an exercise in interculturalism, as the creators from Japan and Southeast Asia shared their perspectives, held deep discussions, and acknowledged their differences to create a single work.

The concept of interculturalism is now universal, and part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The DocCross Asia project has come to an end, but we hope each of us will continue to think about how to promote interaction with people from various countries and regions in the future.

With gratitude to all who supported DocCross Asia,

The DocCross Asia Team