Movie Screening & Director's Talk
KOSHIEN: Japan’s Field of Dreams

Dates:
November 20, 2024

Hours:
7:00pm-9:00pm (Doors Open 6:30pm)

Location:
The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Hall
(5700 Wilshire Blvd.,#100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)
Admission: FREE

Talk by Director Ema Yamazaki
Reservation is required (Click Here)
 

As a program related to our "Ganbare! Japanese Athletes on the World Stage" exhibition, we will be screening a documentary film that tells the story of "current high school baseball" in Japan, which was filmed over a long period of time. This special film event will also feature a talk and Q&A session with the film's director, Ema Yamazaki. 
Major leaguers Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Yusei Kikuchi (Houston Astros) appear as young athletes in this movie!

MOVIE DESCRIPTION
Baseball is life for the die-hard competitors in Koshien, Japan’s national high school baseball championship, whose alumni include US baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and former Yankee Hideki Matsui. As popular as America’s World Series, the stakes are beyond high in this single-elimination tournament. For Coach Mizutani, however, cleaning the grounds and greeting guests are equally important as honing baseball skills, demonstrating discipline, sacrifice and unwavering dedication. Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki follows Mizutani and his team on their quest to win the 100th annual Koshien, and, in the process, goes beyond baseball to reveal the heart of the Japanese national character.​​​​(2019, 94 min. Japanese with English subtitle)

Director:

Ema Yamazaki
Raised in Osaka by a Japanese mother and British father, Ema grew up navigating between Japanese and Western cultures. Having studied filmmaking at New York University, she uses her unique storytelling perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan. In 2017, Ema’s first feature documentary, MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS was released worldwide after raising over $186,000 on Kickstarter. In 2019, Ema’s second feature documentary about the phenomenon of high school baseball in Japan, KOSHIEN: JAPAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS, premiered at DOC NYC. In 2020, the film aired on ESPN, and was released theatrically in Japan. It was a New York Times recommendation for international streaming and featured on the Criterion Channel. Ema's latest documentary feature, THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE, follows one year in a Japanese public school. The film premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023 and is currently playing festivals around the world.

Official Site: https://koshien-movie.com (Japanese)

Related Program

Exhibition
Photo Exhibition
Ganbare! Japanese Athletes on the World Stage
- December 14, 2024