Yutaka Tsuchiya
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese film director
, documentary
film maker, and video activist. His works have focused on the search for identity amongst Japanese
youth, particularly the allure that nationalism
or extreme ideologies have offered to troubled young people. After producing several experimental video art
pieces, Tsuchiya first came to prominence with A New God, a personal documentary shot on video about his relationship with a right-wing, neo-nationalist punk rock
band. Even though Tsuchiya is on the left, he ended up marrying the singer for that band, Karin Amamiya, who has since emerged as a spokesperson for disaffected Japanese youth in the media. The New God won an award at the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
. His next work, Peep "TV" Show, was a fictional post-9/11 tale of numbed young people seeking the "real" on a violent, voyeuristic internet site. Tsuchiya is a key organizer in the Japanese left-wing community, founding VideoAct!, an umbrella organization that helps distribute the documentaries and experimental works of many activist organizations.
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 film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, 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...
film maker, and video activist. His works have focused on the search for identity amongst Japanese
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...
youth, particularly the allure that nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
or extreme ideologies have offered to troubled young people. After producing several experimental video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
pieces, Tsuchiya first came to prominence with A New God, a personal documentary shot on video about his relationship with a right-wing, neo-nationalist punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band. Even though Tsuchiya is on the left, he ended up marrying the singer for that band, Karin Amamiya, who has since emerged as a spokesperson for disaffected Japanese youth in the media. The New God won an award at the 1999 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...
. His next work, Peep "TV" Show, was a fictional post-9/11 tale of numbed young people seeking the "real" on a violent, voyeuristic internet site. Tsuchiya is a key organizer in the Japanese left-wing community, founding VideoAct!, an umbrella organization that helps distribute the documentaries and experimental works of many activist organizations.
External links
- VideoAct! - Official site
- Interview with Tsuchiya Yutaka - Documentary Box (Interviewer: Aaron Gerow)
- Yutaka Tsuchiya and Karin Amamiya Interview - Midnight Eye (Interviewers: Jasper Sharp and Michael Arnold)