September 1923 (film)
| September 1923 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tatsuya Mori |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tadashi Kuwabara |
| Edited by | Chieko Suzaki |
| Music by | Keiichi Suzuki |
Release date |
|
Running time | 137 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
September 1923 (福田村事件, Fukudamura jiken, lit. 'Fukuda Village Incident') is a Japanese film about the Fukuda Village Incident, in which nine ethnic Japanese people, including women and children, were killed on suspicion that they were ethnic Koreans. It was released on September 1, 2023, the 100th anniversary of the Kantō Massacre.[1][2]
The film won the New Currents award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival.[3]
Cast[edit]
- Arata Iura as Tomokazu Sawada
- Rena Tanaka as Shizuko Sawada
- Eita Nagayama
- Akira Emoto
- Masahiro Higashide
- Kosuke Toyohara
- Pierre Taki
Production[edit]
The director, Tatsuya Mori, first learned of this incident through a small newspaper article about a movement to establish a memorial to the victims. However, he had difficulty finding records on the details of the incident. The contemporary president of the neighborhood association that the victims came from speculated that the six surviving members may have avoided speaking out about the incident, as they felt that they would have been ignored as burakumin. However, the president also expressed apprehension about the film, and said "Digging up the incident might lead to younger generations experiencing discrimination against our community once again. We don't want our children to experience the discrimination we went through".[4]
Mori described his motivation as follows:[1]
In modern Japan, I think there is a strong and growing tendency to look away from our negative history. But I believe that people grow up by remembering their mistakes.
They had difficulty raising funds for the film due to its subject matter, but eventually managed to raise 35 million yen ($253,000) through a crowdfunding campaign. They also had difficulty with casting, as talent agencies often avoid having their actors appear in controversial films. In spite of this, well-known actors, including Rena Tanaka and Arata Iura, ended up appearing in the film. Tanaka stated that she was motivated to participate in the film due to parallels that she felt between the murders and events in the contemporary Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iura admired Mori's goals for creating the film, and had already acted in films with strong social messages before.[1]
Principal photography for the film began on August 20, 2022, and lasted until mid-September. Shooting took place mainly in Kyoto and Shiga prefectures.[1]
Accolades[edit]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28th Busan International Film Festival | New Currents Award | September 1923 | Won | [3] |
| 47th Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Film | September 1923 | Nominated | [5] |
| Best Director | Tatsuya Mori | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Toshimichi Saeki, Jun'ichi Inoue, and Haruhiko Arai | Nominated |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Ishitobi, Noriki (September 12, 2022). "Director shining a light on the 'dark history' of 1923 killings". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "福田村事件 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b Soomee Park (13 October 2023). "Busan Film Festival's Market Notches Record Attendance Despite Reduced Budget, Headwinds". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ NEWS, KYODO. "FEATURE: Efforts ongoing to shed light on 1923 Kanto quake's Korean massacre". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "『第47回 日本アカデミー賞』受賞者・作品発表 授賞式司会は羽鳥慎一、岸井ゆきの【コメント全文】". Oricon. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
External links[edit]
- September 1923 film homepage (in Japanese)
- September 1923 at IMDb
