2014

Sanrizuka – Heta Village

Heta Village is an extraordinary documentary about time and place, the first of two masterpieces by OGAWA. OGAWA pushes the protests to the far background to concentrate on the village of Heta itself as one of its youth commits suicide and others are detained by police. The film is quiet, patient, and its 11 scenes are mostly rendered in single takes. This astonishing film is their attempt to render the "time of the village".

Sanrizuka – Peasants of the Second Fortress

This was OGAWA's first international success. The violence had escalated and farmers turned to a new tactic: they built large fortresses, and burrowed underground – under their ground. OGAWA followed the course of the protests, as police invade one after the other. Between the action scenes OGAWA chatted with farmers. One can sense the strong relationship the collective had nurtured with the farmers, and the deep respect with which he approached his subjects.

Sanrizuka – Three Day War

After Summer, Ogawa Pro attempted a more epic scale with Winter in Sanrizuka. It was roundly criticised as a failure. In the wake of this criticism, the collective became increasingly militant. They decided to make a quick and dirty report from the front, calling it a "bullet film." They shot this agit-prop film in three days, when 2,500 protestors battled 6,500 police. Even the school had been let out so children could participate in the action.

The Battle Front for the Liberation of Japan – Summer in Sanrizuka

In 1968, OGAWA formed Ogawa Productions and moved to the construction site of Narita Airport in Sanrizuka. OGAWA chose to live in the most radical village, Heta. The farmers vehemently protested, drawing support of the social movements across Japan. They clashed with riot police sent in to protect the surveyors, who were planning the airport. It's a messy film, but its chaos communicates the passions and actions on the ground.

A Report from Haneda

After the explosive success of Forest of Oppression, Jieiso organised their next film with labour unions and political activists/filmmakers. Bristling with scenes of clashing protesters and riot police, OGAWA (who appeared onscreen) carefully investigates the death of a young protester. The original title ironically refers to the daily reports written by police as well as the police surveillance under which the collective now found itself.

Forest of Oppression – A Record of the Struggle at Takasaki City University of Economics

After Sea of Youth, the filmmakers turned themselves into a fully- fledged collective - Jieiso, the precursor to Ogawa Productions and created an alternative distribution system. Their next film, Forest of Oppression, turned to the students barricading themselves inside a minor university. Audiences were shocked by the vigour and violence of their protest and the film put OGAWA on the map.

Sea of Youth– Four Correspondence Course Students

Sea of Youth was OGAWA Shinsuke's first directorial effort. After leaving Iwanami Productions, he struck an unusual path. He gathered young activists to make an independent documentary on the plight of correspondence students, featuring how they plotted their activism. Many of them later became members of Ogawa Productions. Due to the lack of funding, they sold their books and blood to complete the film.

Little Proletarian

14-year-old Haier has been kicked out of school. He instead spends his time stealing, fighting and terrorising the village with his motorcycle gang. His father tries to brutally beat some sense into the boy. But he does not succeed. And then Haier sets off for the big city... With Little Proletarian, SHEN Jie has created a miracle of a film: a wild, harsh but also really funny portrayal of Chinese teenage life.

Children's Village

This film is the third of the People's Memory Project. In the beginning of 2012, I began gathering statistics of deaths during the Three Year Famine. Children of ten to fifteen years old voluntarily joined me. Taking the video camera I gave them, they visited the old folks, interviewing them and gathered statistics. This project gave them the first opportunity to learn about and appreciate their village's history.

The Last Moose of Aoluguya

The moose of the Daxinganling Mountains in Northeast China possess great strength and majesty though their habitat is disappearing. The Ewenki tribe is forced to abandon their homes. Weijia, an Ewenki nicknamed "Moose", is unable to hunt and can do nothing but drink and tell stories of his vanishing culture. After moving to a southern city to be with his girlfriend, he is unable to quit alcohol and return home.

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