Tatsuya Mori
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese documentary
filmmaker, TV director and author.
, Mori graduated from Rikkyo University
, where he appeared in the student films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa
. After graduating, he tried acting and even appeared in Kurosawa's feature debut, the pink film Kandagawa Wars. He worked at other odd jobs before finally finding employment at a TV production company in 1989, where he began working on documentaries. While working freelance or under contract, he made a number of television documentaries before making A (1998) and A2 (2001), two documentary movies about the everyday life of Aum Shinrikyo followers. Aum Shinrikyo
is a controversial Japanese religious group most known for its involvement in a series of incidents including the Tokyo subway gas attack. A showed at the Berlin Film Festival, and A2 won two prizes at the 2001 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
.
One particular scene from A, in which a plainclothes policeman attacks an Aum follower who is then arrested for attacking the actual attacker (Mori was filming from a distance), sparked controversy among the audience watching the film. The footage was later introduced in court and the 'Aum attacker' was acquitted as a result. Filmmaker Mori was accused of staging the improbable incidents and using actors. Some even refused to believe the footage was shot inside the Aum facilities.
When A2, Mori's second controversial film about the cult was completed, the filmmaker declared his unwillingness to return to the Aum theme in the future. By his own admission, the efforts invested in production of the two documentaries did not bring him anything more than financial damage and troubles, due to limited scale of theatrical screening and refusal of TV broadcasting corporations to licence the films (Mori refused to allow isolated scenes to be used in video sets to Aum-related news broadcasts).
While his documentaries on Aum Shinrikyo were very controversial when they were being filmed and shown, Mori is today considered amongst Japan’s most talented independent non-fiction filmmakers. His most recent work, 311 (2011), is a collaborative work about the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake.
He has also published many books on social issues and the media.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaker, TV director and author.
Career
Born in Hiroshima PrefectureHiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
, Mori graduated from Rikkyo University
Rikkyo University
, also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, based on Christian precepts, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. There is a suburban campus in Niiza in nearby Saitama.It is known for its liberal climate symbolized by the motto -History:...
, where he appeared in the student films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre.-Biography:Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not related to director Akira Kurosawa...
. After graduating, he tried acting and even appeared in Kurosawa's feature debut, the pink film Kandagawa Wars. He worked at other odd jobs before finally finding employment at a TV production company in 1989, where he began working on documentaries. While working freelance or under contract, he made a number of television documentaries before making A (1998) and A2 (2001), two documentary movies about the everyday life of Aum Shinrikyo followers. Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
is a controversial Japanese religious group most known for its involvement in a series of incidents including the Tokyo subway gas attack. A showed at the Berlin Film Festival, and A2 won two prizes at the 2001 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
.
One particular scene from A, in which a plainclothes policeman attacks an Aum follower who is then arrested for attacking the actual attacker (Mori was filming from a distance), sparked controversy among the audience watching the film. The footage was later introduced in court and the 'Aum attacker' was acquitted as a result. Filmmaker Mori was accused of staging the improbable incidents and using actors. Some even refused to believe the footage was shot inside the Aum facilities.
When A2, Mori's second controversial film about the cult was completed, the filmmaker declared his unwillingness to return to the Aum theme in the future. By his own admission, the efforts invested in production of the two documentaries did not bring him anything more than financial damage and troubles, due to limited scale of theatrical screening and refusal of TV broadcasting corporations to licence the films (Mori refused to allow isolated scenes to be used in video sets to Aum-related news broadcasts).
While his documentaries on Aum Shinrikyo were very controversial when they were being filmed and shown, Mori is today considered amongst Japan’s most talented independent non-fiction filmmakers. His most recent work, 311 (2011), is a collaborative work about the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake.
He has also published many books on social issues and the media.
Selected filmography
- A (1998)
- A2 (2001)
- 311 (2011)
External links
- Japan Times: "You just need to ask" - on films by Tatsuya Mori. Registration required (free).
- Midnight Eye: A. A review.