Documenting the Silenced: 20 Years of Okinawan Filmmaking

Asako Kageyama｜Documenting the Silenced: 20 Years of Okinawan Filmmaking

Asako Kageyama (影山あさ子), being a key director and member of "Mori no Eigasha" (森の映画社, Forest Film Studio), an independent documentary collective renowned for its fierce, grass-roots filmmaking. Alongside co-director Yukihisa Fujimoto(藤本幸久), she has spent over two decades capturing the raw, overlooked realities of post-war Okinawa. Their body of works have deep social commentary on the complex entanglements between local communities, the Japanese government, and the U.S. military presence, making them one of the most significant documentary voices in contemporary Japan.

In this talk, Asako will share their journey of documenting Okinawa for more than twenty years! She will take the audience behind the scenes of her creative process, exploring how film can serve as a medium to approach historical traumas buried beneath the surface of everyday life. For Asako, documentary filmmaking is more than just recording, they see it as an act of social dialogue and to excavate the truth. The session will conclude with a short screening of 'SAVE HENOKO: international campaign'(2018), to offer a visceral glimpse into the island’s resistance and resilience.

We hope this event is not merely a talk about Okinawa, nor a one-way transmission of information, but a profound exchange on how the act of "documenting" itself can become a powerful witness to history, and we hope to bring local filmmakers, activists, and cultural workers to have dialogue, reflection, re-examination on the social responsibility of the lens in our local scene. 

影山あさ子｜紀錄沉默：深耕沖繩二十載的影像實踐

影山あさ子為日本獨立紀錄片製作室「森の映画社」的導演之一。她與共同導演藤本幸久長期關注沖繩的草根社會運動，以其強悍且細膩的視角，紀錄了沖繩戰後歷史中那些被忽視、被消音的現實。作為日本當代最重要的紀錄片工作者之一，他們致力於探討在地社群、日本政府與美軍基地之間錯綜複雜的權力角力關係，。

在這次座談中，影山導演將分享她紀錄沖繩二十多年來的經驗之談。分享紀錄片創作的幕後，探討如何透過影像去接近那些深埋於日常表象下的歷史創傷。對她而言，紀錄片絕不僅是純粹的記錄，它更需要一種與社會對話、挖掘真相的姿態。講座後半部將放映短片《SAVE HENOKO: International Campaign》(2018)，讓觀眾直觀感受這邊陲之島的抵抗與韌性。

我們希望這不僅僅是一場關於沖繩的座談，也不是另一場自我感動的單向傳達或單向吸收的分享會；我們誠摯邀請本地的影像工作者、社運人士與文化工作者參與，共同對話、反思並重新檢視鏡頭在我們在地語境中的社會責任。

Sharing Session / 分享會

Venue / 空間： COEX @ Kilang Besi, Penang（Venue Collaborator / 場地合作單位）

Date / 日期： 𝟐𝟐 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 (𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲), 𝟕:𝟑𝟎–𝟗:𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐦

Language / 語言： English

Speaker / 講者： 影山あさ子 Asako Kageyama（「森の映画社」Documentary Director ）

Title / 講題： 紀錄沉默：深耕沖繩二十載的影像實踐

About Film / 關於片子：SAVE HENOKO: international campaign (2018) , 35mins. http://america-banzai.blogspot.com/2018/07/save-henokointernational-campaign.html

Part of the ‘Tracing Silence’ Research Exhibition | 20.06 - 20.07.2026 | NGO