Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1987, Oda Kaori is a filmmaker and artist. Through images and sounds, her works explore memories of human beings. She completed the Doctor of Liberal Arts in Filmmaking under the supervision of Béla Tarr in 2016. Her first feature, Aragane (2015) shot in a Bosnian coal mine, had its world premiere at Yamagata International Film Festival and received Special Mention. The film has been screened at festivals such as Doclisboa, Mar del Plata IFF, Sarajevo FF, TIDF, and more. Her second feature, Toward A Common Tenderness (2017), a poetic film research, had its world premiere at DOK Leipzig. Her latest film, Cenote (2019), shot in underwater caves in Yucatan Mexico, premiered in the Bright Future section at IFFR 2020. She received the Inaugural Nagisa Oshima Prize in 2020 and the New Face Award of the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts in 2021.
Aragane
Aragane
Aragane
Synopsis
‘Aragane’ is a Japanese word for small pieces of coal or stone excavated from a mine. The mine that I filmed in Bosnia bears this name. I found the mine while location scouting for another film. I was attracted to the place, the people, and the sheer amount of physical labour done under harsh circumstances in eight-hour shifts every day under the ground.
‘They are not visible. We know we can function because they risk their lives and dig coals underground, but we don’t pay much attention to this in our daily lives. If my film could offer a chance or moment for people to feel what it is like underground and to remind ourselves of where our electricity comes from, that shall be something I can give back to the mine and miners who allowed me to be with them for the film.’- ODA KaoriFestivals & Awards
2015 Yamagata IDFF
2015 Doclisboa
Director's Profile
ODA Kaori
Filmography
2010 Thus a Noise Speaks
2011 The Wanderer
2012 The Thread of Red Cocoons
2014 Conniving
2014 Lost in Bosnia
2015 Flash
2015 Aragane
2017 Toward A Common Tenderness
2017 Theory of Colours: Prologue
2017 Ten
2018 Tune
2018 Wind Church
2019 Cenote
2019 Night Cruise
2021 Night Train
2022 Karaoke Cafe Bosa
2023 GAMA
