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Kazuhiro Soda

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Kazuhiro Soda (想田 和弘, Sōda, born 1970 in Tochigi Prefecture) is a Japanese documentary filmmaker based in New York, USA. He has lived in New York since 1993. He is known for his observational style and method of documentary film-making.[1]

In 2005, Kazuhiro Soda shot Campaign (Senkyo) (2007, 120 minutes), depicting a political campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, by Kazuhiko Yamauchi, an inexperienced candidate officially endorsed by the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party. When completed, it was invited to the forum section of Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.[2] PBS broadcast a 52-minute version, which won the Peabody Award in 2008.[3] The TV version was broadcast under a different title, Campaign! The Kawasaki Candidate as part of the Why Democracy? series, a global media event co-produced by 33 broadcasters around the world, including the BBC, CBC, and NHK. The 120-minute theatrical version won the Best Documentary Award at the Belgrade International Documentary Film Festival in 2008.

From 2005 to 2007, Soda shot Mental (Seishin) (2008, 135 minutes), which focuses on the lives of patients in a small mental clinic Chorale Okayama in Japan. The film was world-premiered at the Pusan International Film Festival in 2008, and won the Best Documentary Award (PIFF Mecenat Award) there.[4] It also won the Best Documentary Award at the Dubai International Film Festival in December 2008.[5] Other awards include Special Jury Mention at the 2009 Miami International Film Festival, Outstanding Documentary Award at the 2009 Hong Kong International Film Festival,[6] and Inter-religious Jury Prize at Visions du Reel in 2009.[7]

In September 2010, Soda premiered a documentary, Peace (2010, 75 minutes), as the opening film of the DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival.[8] Peace depicts the lives of people with disabilities and cats in Okayama, Japan, and was initially commissioned by the DMZ Festival as a short documentary. Peace later won the Audience Award at Tokyo Filmex,[9] Buyens-Chagoll Award at Visions du Reel,[10] and Best Documentary Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.[11]

In 2009, Soda started shooting Theater (working title), a documentary about a playwright/theater director Oriza Hirata and his company, Seinendan.[12]

In 2009, he published a book called Mental Illness and Mosaic from Chuohoki Publishing.

Soda attended Tokyo University from 1989 to 1993, majoring in religious studies. He also earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in film-making.[13]

Works

Fiction films

  • A Night in New York (1995), writer/director/editor
  • A Flower and a Woman (1995), writer/director/editor
  • Freezing Sunlight (1996), writer/director/editor
  • The Flicker (1997), writer/director/editor

Documentary films

  • Campaign (2007), writer/director/editor/producer
  • Mental (2008), writer/director/editor/producer
  • Peace (2010), writer/director/editor/producer

Books

  • Mental Illness and Mosaic (Chuohoki Publishing), 2009 ISBN 978-4-8058-3014-7

Awards

2001

2008

2009

2010

2011

References

  1. ^ ""Observations on J-Democracy" By Owen Armstrong, Vertigo Magazine". Vertigomagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  2. ^ Elley, Derek (1 March 2007). "Campaign". Variety @ Berlin. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. ^ Xu, Ruiyan (7 April 2009). ""Campaign" Wins a Peabody!". POV - Blog. American Documentary, Inc. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  4. ^ imdb
  5. ^ imdb
  6. ^ imdb
  7. ^ "Interreligious Prize in Nyon 2009". Signis. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Korea Times". Korea Times. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Tokyo Filmex official site". Filmex.net. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  10. ^ Visions du Reel Official Site[dead link]
  11. ^ HKIFF official site[dead link]
  12. ^ Meza, Ed (9 February 2009). "Kazuhiro Soda set for biopic". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  13. ^ "Why Democracy? Director Biography". Whydemocracy.net. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

External links

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