IFOF 2009 Program

November 27(Fri), 2009

Start  12:00
ABONG /Small Home
 111min./Philippines・Japan/2002
 Produced by: "ABONG/Small Home" Production Exhibition Committee
 Directed by: IMAIZUMI Koji
 Language: English, Tagalog / Subtitle: Japanese
Photo: ABONG/Small HomeThis is a story of a family of a migrant worker who is a Japanese descendant living in the mountainous area of Luzon, Philippines. Everyone in the world is working hard for their children but we are now losing sight of the fact that we all live by the gifts of other lives. This film poses a question " how and what really is it to live on this Earth? " This is a film of fairy tale of a family living in southern pacific island facing modern day challenges.
  >> Official site

Start 14:05
The Village Submerged
 92min./Japan/2007
 Directed and Filmed by ONISHI Nobuo
 Planned and Produced by: MOTOHASHI Seiichi, Polepole Times Co., Ltd.
 Aid Fund by: Art and Culture Promotion Fund
 Language: Japanese / Subtitle: Not Available
Photo: A Story of a village that went under waterWater dam construction became hot issue among people of Tokuyama village in Gifu in 1957. Almost 1500 villagers had evacuated one after another to newly allocated site nearby but a few elderly people returned so as to live till the village went under the water. A photographer Nobuo Onishi frequently visited this village since his first visit in 1991 when he was fascinated by the way of living of old folks. The villagers had wisdom to value seasonal gifts of the nature. When the dam was completed, water began to web that no one could ever return to their homes again. This film is a record of 15 years with old folks and their close relationship with nature.

Start 17:05
All are gifts of the Nature, Weather-Mama of Western Aizu
 50min./Japan/2008
 Planned and Produced by: USAGAWA Takashi
 Language: Japanese / Subtitle: Not Available
Photo: All are gifts of the Nature"Garden sowing season begins when rum buds are bulging" or "rain is not near when swallow flies high" are some of the phrases reminiscent of old days spoken by Ms Fumiko Suzuki known as a weather-Mama. She has been studying and practicing in her farm what her grandfather used to say about weather. Years of her keen interest and observation on plants and other creatures in the vicinity that is rich with nature in Nishi-Aizu in Fukushima prefecture has now made it possible for her to foretell the weather of as far ahead as a year away with 70-80% accuracy. She is full of love when she appears to be talking with animals and plants.

Start 19:00
A Farm with Future Vision
 26min./Japan/2008
 Produced and directed by UCHIDA Kazuo
 Language: Japanese / Subtitle: Not Available
Photo: A Farm with Future VisionA year of document at Kirisato Farm located in Ogawa-machi in west Saitama pref. run by Yoshinori Kaneko, one of the founding fathers of modern organic agriculture in Japan. Kaneko gives hands on training to young interns of organic agriculture who live together for a year. After one year of internship, they depart to be farmers of future Japan with hopes and dreams.


November 28(Sat), 2009
Start 9:35
King Corn
 90min./USA/2007
 Director and Producer Aaron Woolf
 Cast & Co-producer; Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis
 Language: English / Subtitles: Japanese
 Trailer:http://www.kingcorn.net/
Photo: King CornAll food is derived from corn…. Americans are made of corn. Two young men close on corn that is in almost all foods Americans eat. Their first move was to take up hands on experience of producing corn in a great corn producing state of Iowa and then to follow on its course to consumer plates. Through corn, the film reveals such issues Americans face today as monoculture, a large scale agriculture, a large scale animal industry, obesity and bio-ethanol.

Start 11:30
System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
 20min./Laos/2008
 Produced by: Japan International Volunteer Center(JVC)
 Language: Lao / Subtitle: Japanese、English
Photo: System of Rice IntensificationRice shortage prevails in the villages of Laos for almost half a year. JVC is working to increase rice yield through improvement of rice culture technique called SRI which introduces a single young nursery planting system. It is aimed to remove heavy burden of expansive chemicals from farmers by turning them to organic farming.

Start 11:50
Seven Farmers in Laos
 42min./Laos/2008
 Directed by: Tondam Pongbichet
 Produced by: Sustainable Agriculture & Environment Development Association(SAEDA)/ Lao Extension for Agriculture Project
 Language: Lao / Subtitle: Japanese
Photo: Seven Farmers in LaosMekong river runs into Laos and to the vicinity of capital city, carrying agro-chemical contaminated water from Thai and in the north from China. SAEDA, a NGO under the leadership of Tondam, is promoting organic farming without such chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The film shows farmers effort to revitalize traditional wisdom in the midst of rapid development.

Start 13:20
Rice; The Life of Asia
 52min./Malaysia/2007
 Produced by: Pesticide Action Network Asia and Pacific(PAN)
 Language: English / Subtitle: Japanese
Photo: Rice; The Life of AsiaThis film depicts, through rice related festivals and ceremonies, how deep rice is rooted in the lives of people of Thai, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh in their daily living, history, culture and environment. In the last half of the film, it shows how multinational corporations and governments are posing threat to people and small farmers in these countries by introducing high yield variety of rice that ravages farmlands, and the fights of farmers against such threat.

Start 15:45
This World is For All Life
 80min./Japan/1984
 Planned & Filmed by KIKUCHI Shu, Edited by KAMEI Fumio
 Language: Japanese / Subtitle: Not Available
Photo: This World is For All LifeA documentary of garden creatures in Ohira Farm that turned from heavy chemical use to non-chemical farming. Ohira farm, a leading figure in national campaign for food production boost after the WW2, had lost the previous head of the family to chemical poisoning and his successor Hiroshi Ohira had almost lost his sight to the same cause. " We must go back to farming of old days "said his mother and that was the start of Hiroshi's soil building days. "Worms eat leaves, birds eat worms and birds leave shit that enriches soil and become nutrient for vegetable "says Hiroshi. All these living creatures are co-workers at his farm. This film is also a last message of a documentalist Fumio Kamei.
     Trailer(Japaneas)
     
       (C)2009 Tokyo Shasin Kobo

Start 17:25
Beyond Organic The Vision of Fairview Garden
 33min./USA/2000
 Directed by John Graaf, Produced by Center for Urban Agriculture
 Language: English / Subtitle: Japanese
Photo: Beyond OrganicA documentary film of a young farmer in California Michael Ableman who struggled to keep his farm while a wave of urbanization brought new settlers all around the farm. Even though Ableman managed to calm down complaints and pressure from new neighbors to quit farming for the annoying smell of compost and cock crow by turning his farm into a hands-on learning center of real food for urban people, the land owner was in the process to sell the farmland to a housing developer. The farm was on the verge of closure when CSA members came to rescue and raised enough fund to keep the farm going as Non Profit Organization. This film shows possibilities of urban agriculture.

Start 18:45
Living Soil
 41min./Japan/1982
 Planned by Natural Farming Research Center, MOA Production
 Produced by Sakura Films
 Language: Japanese / Subtitle: Not Available
Photo: Living SoilIssues of food and agriculture have direct impact on our health. The film gives scientific picture of "Living Soil" that produces healthy crops at farm managed by Kazuo Suka, a natural farmer who has succeeded in building such living soil. This is a priceless report of possibility of natural farming in contrast to modern agriculture system that is based on industrial view point. It also documents problems of modern agriculture and lessons learnt from them.

Start 19:45
Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
 53min./USA/2006
 Produced by: Community Services, Inc.
 Directed by: Faith Morgan
 Language: English, Spanish / Subtitle: Japanese
 Trailer: http://www.powerofcommunity.org/
Photo: Power of CommunityWhen Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s, the country faced an immediate crisis-feeding the population-and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low-energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil-fuel intensive farming to small, less energy-intensive organic farms and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one. This film tells story of the Cuban people's challenge to change their agriculture, industry, housing, education, medical care and energy without anyone lost for starvation or lack of medical attention even under the most severe economic climate. The keyword people found is " the Power of Community". Some day we all must face the peak oil where Cuban experience has a lot to tell.

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