
Juichiro Yamasaki
2021Hikari no oto
Juichiro Yamasaki
Takeshi Masago
Yusuke hopes to become a musician in Tokyo, but those dreams are placed on hold for the time being. Yusuke returns to his family owned dairy farm in North Okayama Prefecture after hearing that his father was injured. As the eldest son, Yusuke feels obligated to help his family out. In addition, his girlfriend Yoko's late husband hoped to become a farmer and worked for Yusuke's uncle. Does Yusuke have a way out?
The Sound of Light
新しき民
Juichiro Yamasaki
Naohisa Nakagaki, Kano Kajiwara
1726, Sanchu, Okayama Prefecture: farmers negotiate with the feudal domain in order to seek exemption from rising taxes. Infighting leads to suppression by the samurai class, and the farmers band together for battle. It’s a moment of injustice, setting the stage for bravery and sacrifice. However those daring characters remain largely offscreen in Juichiro Yamasaki’s brilliant film. Instead, the cowardly protagonist Jihei (Naohisa Nakagaki) faces a crisis of the risks of rebellion and its aftermath that resonates with our contemporary moment. In this rare independent jidaigeki, Kenta Tawara’s beautiful digital B&W photography channels and refigures luminaries of classical Japanese cinema, boasting rapturous animated sequences by Tomomichi Nakamura and experimental score by Ayako Sasaki.
Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn