The Shiranui Sea

Synopsis

The Shiranui Sea offers an intimate portrait of everyday life in the aftermath of one of Japan’s most infamous environmental disasters. For nearly four decades, the Chisso Corporation discharged methylmercury into Minamata Bay, poisoning the water and devastating the coastal communities whose lives and identities were bound to the sea. Director Noriaki Tsuchimoto captures the profound ecological and human consequences of this contamination, from bays brimming with toxic fish to young adults living with mercury-related disabilities. The film makes visible an underlying politics of disavowal and confusion, as corporate and state actors come together to evade accountability.  One of seventeen films Tsuchimoto devoted to Minamata, The Shiranui Sea reveals the long-term impacts of mercury poisoning without reducing people to victims. Instead, it stands as a collaborative work of witness, representing the people of Minamata on their own terms.

Director Bio

Noriaki Tsuchimoto (土本典昭, 1928-2008) was one of the most important figures in the history of Japanese documentary filmmaking, famous for his nuanced portrait films that represented a shared humanity. He was involved in over 100 films, of different topics and styles, including an extended series of documentaries and exhibitions centering the mercury poisoning in Minamata, created over many decades. At the heart of this body of work was the 1970s Minamata trilogy: The Victims and Their World (1971), Minamata Revolt: A People’s Quest for Life (1973), and The Shiranui Sea (1975). With his roots in student activism through Japan’s Communist Party, Noriaki was always distinctly mindful of the power dynamics that shaped filmmaking, and he experimented with different modes of collaborative and reflexive filmmaking throughout his career.

Distribution

Zakka Films
Contact: info@zakkafilms.com

 

How does one grieve socially? In other words, how do we etch this calamity in our memories?