The artist and filmmaker Hikaru Fujii confronts political and social problems whose roots lie in history. Rather than presenting his research into past events just as it is, he has continued to use his work to attempt reinterpretations of the issues from contemporary perspectives.
For Theater Commons Tokyo, Fujii will lead a special workshop about filmmaking. Participants will perform “Japanese people.” Through these “reenactments,” social and community divides will be visualized as the physical experiences of the participants.
What are the origins of the divisions now fracturing the world? The workshop will examine the issues in contemporary society that lie behind these divides, including the impact of disasters on communities, depopulation, immigration, and discrimination. Drawing on past actions and language, these issues will be internalized by the participants and then objectified by adding the external gaze of the camera in order to create a forum for participants to investigate the theme. In this way, the workshop will offer a chance to search for answers to today’s seemingly irresolvable problems.