Zushi Beach Film Festival: A showcase for travelers who connect people and culture
Aggregating local-to-local connections
--What is the role of the film festival and your year-round activities?
Cinema Amigo, a movie theater and cafe, is a base rooted in the local community, and Cinema Caravan is an activity that connects with the outside world. The annual Zushi Beach Film Festival allows visitors to experience the various connections they have cultivated inside and outside of Zushi in some way, such as through films, art works, and workshops. Although it is a film festival, it is not just about films; it is a cultural experience event.
Gen Nagashima, musician and founder of the Zushi Beach Film Festival
All the members love traveling, so the concept of "travelers with a base" was there from the beginning. If you just travel, even if you make friends at your destination, it ends up being a one-off, but if you go on a trip with a base that you can nurture, you can bring back what you learned on your trip and reflect it, and it doesn't end as a one-off, but you can invite people here next time, and the density of your interactions will be different because of that. I think that's how your connections will become stronger.
-What was the opportunity that led to the regional exchange with the Basque Country in Spain?
That was the beginning of our relationship, when a Japanese person living in the Basque Country who wanted to introduce Basque culture to Japan came to Cinema Amigo to ask if there was an opportunity to show a film he had made with local filmmakers in Japan. From there, we held film screening events at Cinema Amigo and events inviting Basque people, and then Shizuno Rai from Cinema Caravan had the opportunity to go to San Sebastian for an interview, and from there we started to visit each other.
So, we started inviting people from the Basque Country around 2010, and we made a booklet about it, and when he showed it to the director of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, who lives in the Basque Country, he said, "If you come here, why don't you do a Cinema Caravan during the festival?" So in 2013, a total of 25 or 26 people, including about 10 core members of the Cinema Caravan, came to the San Sebastian International Film Festival from Japan.
After becoming friends with many more local people during that time, artists and chefs from the Basque Country began coming to the Zushi Beach Film Festival every year in some form.
(c) ZUSHI BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
--What about Indonesia?
Takashi Kuribayashi, a contemporary artist and member of Cinema Caravan, has relocated to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The art scene in Yogyakarta is currently very thriving, with many connections to be made and low prices making it easy to create large-scale works.
Since we were invited to the contemporary art festival "ART JOG" in Yogyakarta as part of the Cinema Caravan in 2015, local people have now started coming to the Zushi Beach Film Festival. Takashi's assistants, students and other aspiring artists come to Japan partly to study, create and present their own works, and also help with the setup during the festival.
The term "unofficial sister cities" that we often use is actually an expression that was started by the people at the Kamakura NPO Root Culture, but for us, rather than Japan x Spain or Japan x Indonesia, we are conscious of local to local, such as Zushi x San Sebastian or Zushi x Yogyakarta. There are several connected areas in Japan, such as Shirakawa-go, Yubari, and Nozawa, and I hope that these connections will become like a web and that exchanges will progress, regardless of whether they are domestic or international.
Uncovering hidden charm deep within the region
-What kind of atmosphere do you create when you travel with Cinema Caravan?
Cinema Caravan has two forms: one is as a town revitalization initiative, and the other is when we are invited as a collective of artists. It varies from time to time, but we basically place importance on creating things together with local people and making use of what is available in the area.
When I went to Shirakawa-go, I made the screen itself out of Mino washi paper, a traditional craft, and the screen frame out of materials used in Gassho-style houses. I also use local ingredients for the food, and offer dishes that local people would never think of, proposing new local cuisine.
A screen made from Mino washi paper and witch hazel (c) ZUSHI BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
For the Niigata Art Triennale, I was asked to create a piece of work based on the motif of a local depopulated village, so I created an installation, film screening and performance that expressed this.
-What about the San Sebastian Film Festival?
Although the premise was to introduce Japanese culture, the concept was to introduce the culture of the regions of Japan that are connected through Cinema Caravan, and the venue was created in collaboration with local artists. Last year, we were invited as a group of artists to an art event called "SONSBEEK" in the Netherlands, and we invited the artists we connected with there to San Sebastian, creating an exchange between the three cities.
The festival-like atmosphere and the "Oiran Dochu" performance (c) ZUSHI BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
--The Zushi Beach Film Festival has a very sophisticated atmosphere, and many visitors come from within Tokyo.
I think about 80% of the visitors come to enjoy the slightly extraordinary atmosphere, like visiting an overseas amusement park. We are very particular about not wanting the atmosphere to be too commercial, full of corporate logos, or like a school play, and we are creating the venue only with sponsors who agree with our purpose.
I hope that even a small percentage of the people who come after being inspired by these aspects will be able to pick up and take home the culture and message of other regions that we truly want to convey.
(c) ZUSHI BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
Turning cultivated human skills into a community strength
--What is your biggest message?
Cinema Caravan's key concept is always "Playing with the Earth." For example, at the Zushi Beach Film Festival, there are times when storms hit directly, and by overcoming such obstacles one by one, the fundamental strength of the people involved, their human power, increases, and this becomes the strength of the community, which is what we value most.
In the future, I would like to go beyond just introducing culture to also introduce things that are being done in other regions that can be adopted in Zushi, and expand efforts to improve local living environments, creating a movement that will help make the town more appealing.
