Work-in-Progress Screening of Now and Then

A Work-in-Progress Screening hosted by visiting filmmaker Takashi Nishihara. Free and open to all. Robarts Library is not open to the public so registration is required to gain access to the screening in Media Commons Theatre (RL-3025).

His latest documentary NOW AND THEN, is about the history of the refugee system and colonialism in Japan. By focusing on activists seeking justice on the 1923 massacre during the Great Kanto Earthquake and the current debates around Japan’s strict immigration laws, the film takes aim at the seeds and roots of xenophobia and the unfinished business of the nation’s reckoning with its imperialist history. There will be a discussion with the director after the screening and any feedback is welcome.

Takashi Nishihara is a filmmaker based in Tokyo. He studied at Waseda University, Graduate School of Arts and Video Journalism and directs films that are often focused on civilian and grassroots activism amongst the young generation in Japan. His first feature documentary ABOUT MY LIBERTY (2016) premiered at Hot Docs. The film followed members of the student activist organization SEALDs, who were protesting against the government's push to reinterpret the Constitution. His most recent documentary feature ONE HUNDRED YEARS AND HOPE (2022), which followed young members of the Japanese Communist Party, had its international premiere at DMZ International Documentary Film Festival and its European Premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam. His critical directing style is evident in his visual treatment of social issues such as human rights and gender equality.