VISITING GUEST
KAZUHIRO SODA
Kazuhiro Soda
KAZUHIRO SODA
The East Asia Film Festival Ireland brings key film talents from East Asia to Irish audiences whether this is through our cinema screenings, commissioned online interviews or hosting in-person visits.
We are delighted to welcome Japanese documentary filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda who will take part in a series of talks and screenings in collaboration with four Irish universities, below information and details:
WED 28 FEB, 5.30PM, TRISKEL CORK
screening + introduction by Kazuhiro Soda
BOOK TICKETS
THU 29 FEB, 6PM, pálás galway
screening + q&a session with Kazuhiro Soda, moderated by Dr. Tony Tracy
BOOK TICKETS
TUE 5 MAR, 6.30-7.30PM, IFI DUBLIN
IN-CONVERSATION EVENT: KAZUHIRO SODA, CHUTI CHANG WITH EDWINA FORKIN
‘Producing independent cinema in a globalised environment’
BOOK TICKETS
THU 7 MAR, 6PM, IFI DUBLIN
8TH EAFFI 2024 OPENING FILM: THE CATS OF GOKOGU SHRINE
screening + q&a session with Kazuhiro Soda, MODERATED BY DR. TONY TRACY
book tickets
KAZUHIRO SODA
SODA Kazuhiro is an award-winning Japanese independent director, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer, author.
Born in Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan in 1970, he studied Religion at Tokyo University and completed a degree in Film Studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He spent many years in New York as correspondent producing documentaries for NHK, the biggest national broadcaster in his native Japan, before directing his first ‘Observational Film’, CAMPAIGN (2007) which follows the election campaign of an old schoolmate, Kazuhiko Yamauchi, a political newcomer running for the local office for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). CAMPAIGN won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary.
Kazuhiro Soda practices an observational method of documentary filmmaking based on his own 'Ten Commandments' which prohibits him from doing pre-shoot research or writing a synopsis before filming. He imposes these rules on himself in order to minimise preconceptions and to make unexpected discoveries while filming and editing.
Besides making films, Kazuhiro Soda also writes non-fiction books and articles for film magazines. He is also a recipient of the Marek Nowicki lifetime achievement prize awarded by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.
Filmography: CAMPAIGN (Observational Film #1, Documentary Peabody Award 2007); MENTAL (Observational Film #2, Best Documentary Busan International Film Festival 2008); PEACE (Observational Film Extra, Best Documentary, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2010); THEATRE 1 (Observational Film #3, Young Jury’s Prize, Festival des 3 Continents 2012); THEATRE 2 (Observational Film #4, Young Jury’s Prize, Festival des 3 Continents 2012) ; CAMPAIGN 2 (Observational Film #5, Cinéma du Réel, MoMA Documentary Fortnight 2013); OYSTER FACTORY (Observational Film #6, Locarno International Film Festival, Fuori Concorso 2015); INLAND SEA (Observational Film #7, Berlinale Forum 2018); THE BIG HOUSE (Observational Film #8, Berlin Critics’ Week 2018); ZERO (Observational Film #9, Ecumenical Prize, Berlin International Film Festival 2020); THE CATS OF GOKOGU SHRINE (Observational Film #10, Berlinale Forum 2024)