Florence October 10th – 17th, 2017

International documentary film festival

  • A Flower and A Woman

    USA 1995 5'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    A young woman and a flower are matched, thanks to the stuff of the bodies and the dynamics of symbolism, from their simultaneous blossoming to the accomplishment of each other’s destiny: for the woman, meeting a man and achieving motherhood, for the flower – cut and thrown away – new, multiplied life when a flowerbed blooms again.

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:15pm

  • A Night in New York

    USA 1995 10'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Late at night, a Japanese businessman enters a pizza shop and observes strange but typical New Yorkers eating their pizza in their own queer ways. The businessman makes fun of them, believing he is the only one that is normal person there. However, it soon becomes apparent that he is no less strange than them.

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:15pm

  • Engeki 1
    Theatre 1

    Japan, USA 2012 172'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #3 - What is the essence of theatre? Theatre 1 is a feature length documentary which closely depicts the world of Oriza Hirata, Japan’s leading playwright and director, and his theatrical company, Seinendan. By depicting them, the film leads the audience to revisit fundamental but timely questions: What is Theatre? Why do human beings love acting?

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Thursday, October 12th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:45pm

  • Engeki 2
    Theatre 2

    USA, Japan, France 2012 170'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #4 - Can the theatre arts survive in the 21st century? If Theatre 1 is about the world of Oriza Hirata, Theatre 2 is a feature documentary, which depicts the relationship between Hirata and the world we live in. In order for his art and his not-so-commercial company to survive this highly capitalistic modern society, what kind of strategy does Hirata have and practice? 

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Friday, October 13th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:45pm

  • Freezing Sunlight

    USA 1996 85'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Jon and Jelena, a young couple, have recently begun co-habiting in a small apartment, deep in the heart of East Village. When Jon's distant cousin James visits New York City and moves into the couple's tiny apartment for a week, his habits conflict with Jon and Jelena's structured life, and James is left feeling like an unwelcome stranger. He leaves their apartment to face the jaded city, floating from block to block, street to street, not quite knowing if he will survive the cruel Manhattan twilight.

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Spazio Alfieri, 10:00pm

  • Kaki Kouba
    Oyster Factory

    USA, Japan 2015 145'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #6 - Oyster Factory is a feature length documentary that observes and depicts the rich and complex world of small oyster factories including its fishermen and workers. The film closely follows their daily lives, which seem uneventful on the surface, but are facing some gradual, inevitable changes because of the depopulation of their town and globalization.

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Monday, October 16th, La Compagnia, 3:00pm

  • Peace

    Japan, USA, South Korea 2010 75'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film Extra - What is peace? What is coexistence? And what are the bases for them? Peace contemplates these questions by observing the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city, where life and death, acceptance and rejection, are intermingled.

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:15pm

  • Seishin
    Mental

    Japan 2008 135'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #2 - Free of preconception and pre-established missions, Kazuhiro Soda observes the complex world of an outpatient mental health clinic Chorale Okayama in Japan, interwoven with patients, doctors, staff, volunteers, and home-helpers.

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Wednesday, October 11th, Spazio Alfieri, 6:15pm

  • Senkyo
    Campaign

    USA, Japan 2007 120'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #1 - Can a candidate with no political experience and no charisma win an election if he is backed by the political giant Prime Minister Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party? This observational documentary closely follows a heated election campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, revealing the true nature of "Democracy."

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Tuesday, October 10th, La Compagnia, 6:30 pm

  • Senkyo 2
    Campaign 2

    USA, Japan 2013 149'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    Observational Film #5 - In response to the Fukushima disaster, Yama-san is running an election campaign with an anti-nuclear message. But unlike last time (shown in Campaign), he has no support by the Party, no money, no machine, no nothing. Does he even stand a chance?

    Watch the Trailer

    2017 Saturday, October 14th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:30 pm

  • The Flicker

    USA 1997 17'
    Directed by: Kazuhiro Soda
    James is a photographer who takes pictures on the streets of New York City. One day, he encounters a blind man standing on a lonely street. James feels drawn to the man's mysterious aura and snaps several photographs of his alluring face. However, later, while reviewing the pictures, he discovers that he missed the most crucial moment. One that will never return.

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Spazio Alfieri, 4:15pm

  • The Power of Observation: How and Why I Make "Observational" Documentaries
    Seminario di | Lecture by Kazuhiro Soda


    Kazuhiro Soda has made his feature length documentaries in the same method and style. He calls them "observational films" not only because they are inspired by the tradition of observational cinema, but also because he believes in the power of contemplation. When he says "contemplation" in this context, he means two things. Firstly, as a filmmaker he closely looks at the reality in front of him and makes films according to his observations and discoveries, not based on preconceptions he had before he shot the film. Secondly, he encourages the viewers to observe the film actively with their own eyes and minds.

    The lecture is in English. Showing clips from his films and films he adores, Soda will explain how and why he takes this particular approach to documentary filmmaking.

    Free Entrance

    2017 Sunday, October 15th, Sala incontri ZAP, 09:30am - #1 The Shooting
    Monday, October 16th, 09:30am - #2 The Editing

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