Screening of the Feature Film Ainu Mosir and the Documentary Ainu: Indigenous People of Japan

From 12:00 PM

Ainu Mosir (2020)

Directed by Takeshi Fukunaga (Nikkatsu Corporation)

Kanto is a 14-year-old boy of Japan’s Indigenous Ainu people. He lives with his mother, Emi (43), who runs a souvenir shop in a small town in Hokkaido, northern Japan, where the local Ainu community has developed tourism to preserve its culture and create jobs.

Still grieving the loss of his father, who passed away a year earlier, Kanto learns from Ainu community leader Debo (56) about a small opening in a rock deep in the nearby forest. According to Ainu tradition, it is believed to be a gateway to the afterlife, where the spirits of the deceased reside. Hoping to see his father again, Kanto sets out to find the sacred place.

In Japanese with English subtitles

Running time: 1 hr 24 min

From 1:30 PM

Ainu: Indigenous People of Japan (2019)

In Ainu: Indigenous People of Japan (2019), director Naomi Mizoguchi explores the efforts of today’s Ainu people to reclaim and pass on their cultural identity.

The documentary follows the daily lives of four elderly members of the Ainu community living in Biratori, Hokkaido. Born in the 1930s, they were not taught the Ainu language as children due to the discrimination and social attitudes of the time. As perceptions gradually changed over the decades, they began reconnecting with their heritage and became community leaders dedicated to revitalizing the Ainu language and culture.

The film focuses on their experiences and ongoing efforts to preserve Ainu history and traditions through language classes and everyday cultural practices, offering a hopeful look at how Ainu culture continues to survive and thrive through the dedication of its people.

In Japanese with English subtitles

Venue: Education Hall, House of Histories (Istorijų namai)