DocCross Asia is an international cultural exchange project that aims to promote collaboration between broadcasters in Japan and filmmakers in Southeast Asia through documentaries. The results of the 15-month project will be shared online from the venue in Tokyo. The common theme is "Multiculturalism in Japan." After screening two films produced by DocCross Asia, we will be joined by Japanese and Southeast Asian filmmakers to discuss the power of documentaries, and look at the portrait of Intercultural Japan that has emerged through documentary production.

Program

〈Opening〉

SATO Yuri
(Executive Vice President, The Japan Foundation)

〈Introduction〉

YAMAWAKI Keizo
(Professor, School of Global Japanese Studies, Meiji University)

〈Part 1〉

Screening & Discussion（1h 40 min.）

After showing the films "I DREAM OF CARING" (Philippines & Goolight) and "AWAY FROM HOME" (Vietnam & Nagoya TV) produced by DocCross Asia, we will ask the filmmakers to share their thoughts. We will also discuss the difficulties that arose from the differences in thinking and production methods between Japan and the other countries, how the spread of COVID-19 affected the production process, and new perspectives gained from collaboration.

"I DREAM OF CARING" (27 min. Screening & 20 min. Discussion)

Speakers:
　Kristoffer Tops Brugada（Documentary Director）
　CHURCH Atsuko (Goolight Co., Ltd.)

"AWAY FROM HOME" (26 min. Screening & 20 min. Discussion)

Speakers:
　Nguyen Nhat Duy (Documentary Director)
　Phan Ý Linh (Producer)
　MURASE Fuminori (Nagoya Broadcasting Network Co., Ltd.)

Host: TAKEDA Yasutaka (The Japan Foundation Asia Center)
Speaker: KATO Seiko (DocCross Asia General Producer)
Commentator: YAMAWAKI Keizo

〈Part 2〉

Talk with filmmakers from DocCross Asia Selection - Intercultural Japan through the Lens of Documentaries –（45 min.）

With Professor Yamawaki as moderator, the session will focus on several documentaries related to community, education, and nursing care from those currently available on DocCross Asia Selection. The filmmakers will discuss the initiatives and issues they have observed in their respective regions and the possible role of local communities in building an intercultural society.

Speakers:
　KAMAI Fuki (Hokkaido Broadcasting)
　　>>> "Kami-san from Vietnam: The Future of an Inclusive Society", 2019
　KUWA Kenichiro (TV Shinshu)
　　>>> "Rochman and Eldercare", 2021
　UNOKI Ken (Television Nishinippon)
　　>>>”The Nepalese Person Near You”, 2019
　KIRIYAMA Yosuke (Aichi Television Broadcasting)
　　>>> "Castaway Kids－Foreign Children Who Can't Go to School", 2019
　
Moderator: YAMAWAKI Keizo

〈DocCross Asia Summary〉

The Significance and Influence of DocCross Asia（15 min.）

We will review the project and discuss the exchange of perspectives between filmmakers from Japan and Southeast Asia, and what the project has revealed about intercultural Japan.

Speaker: YAMAWAKI Keizo
Host: TAKEDA Yasutaka

Speakers

YAMAWAKI Keizo

YAMAWAKI Keizo is professor in the School of Global Japanese Studies, Meiji University, Tokyo. He specializes in migration integration. He has advised numerous local governments as well as ministries of the national government in Japan. Since 2010, he has promoted exchange of ideas and good practices in migrant integration between cities in Japan and those in Europe, Korea and Australia. In January 2020、he spoke as a Japanese expert at the OECD high-level policy forum. He is the co-author of An Introduction to the Intercultural City for Local Governments in Japan, published in March 2021 by the Council of Europe. At Meiji University, he has been working with his students on intercultural community building, such as conducting workshops and producing videos. Recently, his seminar cooperated in the production of a music video on the theme of “Yasashii Nihongo” or plain and caring Japanese.

Kristoffer Tops Brugada

Director, producer, screenwriter, and professional lecturer, Brugada is one of the leading independent filmmakers in the Philippines. Delving into the strength and frailty of humanity, he has won several international awards such as the Peabody Award, and the New York Festivals’ Gold and Silver Medals. His recent film, "An Elegy to Forgetting" (2020), which chronicles his father's last days with Alzheimer's disease, was highly acclaimed in the Philippines and abroad. "Bullet-laced Dreams" (2020), which follows indigenous children in Mindanao who fight for their right to earn an education, won the Japan Prize 2021 (UNICEF Prize).

CHURCH Atsuko

Director, Goolight Corporation
After working several years for a production company in Tokyo, Church joined cable TV station Goolight in 2017. She is currently in charge of daily news programs and documentaries, and overseas sales of media content. Through her work in local television, she’s committed to maintaining close ties with local people. Her 2019 work, “A Passionate Life,” tells the story of the first Japanese female photojournalist, 104 years old at the time.

Nguyen Nhat Duy & Phan Ý Linh

Duy is a graduate of the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema, and a writer and director of feature films, TV series and documentaries. Linh is a writer and producer for Vietnam Television’s VTV7. Together, they have created works about education and children in Vietnam that have won several international awards. Their recent works include "A Star from Nowhere" (2019), an international co-production with Japan, "Brother" (2019), winner of the ABU Award 2019 for Children's Programs, and "Sister" (2018), winner of the Japan Prize 2018 (UNICEF Prize).

MURASE Fuminori

Producer, Nagoya Television Broadcasting Co.
Murase joined Nagoya Television Broadcasting in 2005. He has worked at the forefront of news reporting as a news desk editor for many years and as a documentary producer since 2017. His work includes many documentaries that deal with social issues in Japan, such as “Small Actions, Big Results” (2020 - Grand Prize, 47th HBF Prize), “Whole Again” (2019 - Commended Entry, ABU Award 2019), and “Dreams and Hopes” (2019 - Excellence Award, The Age of Regionalism Video Festival 2019).

DocCross Asia Webinar Recording Now Available