The Eastern

The Eastern or Sharghi is a 2018 documentary film directed by Masoud Taheri which deals with the life, works and thoughts of Toshihiko Izutsu. This film is the only documentary ever made about Izutsu.

Production
The making of this film lasted for four years, shot in twelve countries, including Iran, Japan, France, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Canada, America, Syria, Spain, and Russia, and the interviewees speak eleven languages. In order to produce this film, interviews were conducted with about 120 people, and finally, after evaluation, the words of more than sixty people were included in the film.

Reception
The review session for this documentary was held in August 2017 with Hassan Balkhari and Akbar Alami speaking at the Iranian National Library and Records Organization. Yaser Mirdamadi has discussed the film in an article on the BBC Persian website. Nahal Tajaddod wrote an article about this documentary in Shargh newspaper and considered the film to reveal "many mysteries" for herself. Apart from the premiere screening in Tokyo on July 24, 2018, and August 17, 2017, in Tehran, this film has been shown in numerous universities including Stanford, MIT, Oxford, Edinburgh, Ryukoku, Meiji, Shahid Beheshti, Qom Religions and Denominations, Science and Research Center, and London's Tawheed Center.