Sanchu Uprising: Voices at Dawn - Japan Cuts 2015

Sanchu Uprising: Voices at Dawn
新しき民 (Atarashiki Tami)
Sunday, July 19, 6 PM
FEATURE SLATE
CLOSING FILM
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Introduction and Q&A with director Juichiro Yamasaki
1726, Sanchu, Okayama Prefecture: farmers negotiate with the feudal domain in order to seek exemption from rising taxes before 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) weighs the risks of rebellion and its aftermath, a tale resonating 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 an experimental score by Ayako Sasaki.
Japan. 2014. 117 min. DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Juichiro Yamasaki. With Naohisa Nakagaki, Kano Kajiwara, Shoichi Honda, Yota Kawase, Hotaru.
Indie Forum, 2015 Osaka Asian Film Festival
Part of JAPAN CUTS 2015.