Date: December 15th, 2016
Venue: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University Inamori Memorial 3rd floor, Large Meeting Hall 　map »
Organiser：The Japan Foundation Asia Center and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University

From everyday life to the affairs of the state, human societies engage in politics. What makes life political? How do people in Southeast Asia engage in politics and what kinds of representations do people strive for? What forms of everyday interaction shape ideas of politics and what political dreams do people have? While we frequently see public demonstrations in Southeast Asia, how do people express political ideas in everyday life? This year we are accepting documentaries that look at all aspects of everyday expressions of political life in Southeast Asia.

Visual Documentary Project 2016 »

PROGRAM:

１３：３０　Women of the Forest　Director: Inshallah P. Montero (Philippines & Malaysia)
１４：００　Mother and Son　Director: Thwe Myo Nyunt　(Myanmar)
１４：３０　60Days　Directors: Htut Ye Kyaw, Pyay Maw Thein, Sett Paing Aung (Myanmar)
１５：１５　Break　　　　　
１５：３０　Vein　Directors: Htet Aung San, KO JET，Phyo Zayar Kyaw (Myanmar)
１６：１５　Discussion

COMMENTATORS

Ishizaka Kenji Programming Director, “Asian Future” section at Tokyo International Film
Festival (TIFF) / Professor, Japan Institute of the Moving Image (JIMI / a.k.a. Imamura Shohei Film School)
Wakai Makiko Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Tokyo office

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Southeast Asia is rich in its diversity of ethnic, religious and cultural composition. The region has maintained the coexistence of such diversity while at the same time achieving economic progress and becoming a hub for the flow of people, goods, money and information. Yet at present, the region is also confronted with serious issues such as the decrease of biodiversity and tropical forests, disasters, pandemics, aging population, ethnic and religious conflicts, economic differentiation and poverty. In the face of this, how is coexistence and sustainability possible despite the diversity that exists? How can we make public resources out of the region’ s social foundations which are the basis of people’ s everyday lives? And, how can we connect these in a complementary way to existing systems of governance towards solving the problems and issues mentioned above?

In order to address these questions in the context of Southeast Asia, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University has initiated “Visual Documentary project” which explicitly examines everyday life through a visual approach since 2012. This project aims to use visual forms of expression to complement the growing literature that exists on Southeast Asian societies. From 2014, the Japan Foundation Asia Center joins this project as co-organizer to help widely promote the richness of Southeast Asian cultures to people in Japan. As of 2016, the project has linked up with numerous film schools in the region to help strengthen the documentary filmmaking network.