AJS-NSW, in collaboration with The Japan Foundation, Sydney, is presenting a screening of the documentary "The Making of a Japanese".
The Making of a Japanese is a documentary film that chronicles life at a large Japanese elementary school in suburban Tokyo. Filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki, who herself attended a similar elementary school, distilled over 700 hours of footage taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, into a compelling examination of how Japanese schools cultivate culturally distinct characteristics in young students.
The film follows first- and sixth-grade students across a full academic year. By observing daily rituals—morning greetings, lunch service, cleaning duties, assemblies—the filmmaker says she sought to document the subtle mechanisms of socialization that operate beneath the surface of formal education and are formative for the Japanese national character.
The film has received numerous awards, and a shorter adaptation entitled Instruments of a Beating Heart, received a nomination for Best Documentary Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards. For more information about the film see here: LINK.
Prior to the screening, we will have a brief introduction to the Japanese education system, from two perspectives.
Yoshiko Miyata is the principal at the Sydney Japanese International School; she has more than 30 years experience in Japanese public schools at elementary and junior high level, including as an English teacher.
Kurtis Carter has recently returned from two years on the JET program teaching in Iwaki, Fukushima, where he developed and has presented on evidence-based English instruction for elementary students. He is currently Vice President of the Japanese Teachers Association of NSW.
The film runs for 90 minutes. The event is free but seats are limited and registration is essential.
This is another event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan.
