(日本語)
“A glimpse into a labyrinth of delusions in the mind of Iwao Hakamada, known as the world’s longest-held death row inmate.”
About the film:
Iwao Hakamada, a former professional boxer, was sentenced to death in 1968 for mass murder and held on death row for 48 years, the longest stint in history. In 2014, he was granted an immediate release when the Shizuoka district court found that the evidence against him had been fabricated. Mr. Hakamada now lives peacefully with his sister in Hamamatsu.
This documentary was filmed in 2015, one year after Mr. Hakamada’s discharge. In interviewing Mr. Hakamada, now 79 years old and still suffering from prison psychosis, this record attempts to capture the immeasurable solitude of nearly half a century. Walking alongside Hakamada through his labyrinth of delusions, amidst fading memories and the powerful will to victory, it glimpses into Hakamada’s complicated psychology, a web of opaque logic warped by his life’s predicament.
Mt. Fuji – Atami International Film & VR Festival Special Prize Award
Nomination – Wellington Independent Film Festival
Official Selection – Dumbo Film Festival 2019
Director/DP/Editing/Interview: Hiroshi Sunairi
Duration: 01:16:00
DCP: Japan/USA
CAST: Iwao Hakamada & Hideko Hakamada
Producer: Joel Kimbeck
Associate Producer: Yoshinobu Tsunoo, Toshi Shibata, Nobuhiro Terasawa, Takao Sunairi, Fumiko Sunairi
Music: Arto Lindsay (Recorded by Thiago Nassif at Audio Rebel, Rio de Janeiro)
prelude: Shoko Nagai & Satoshi Takeishi
epilogue: Yuuki Ono
Art Direction: Norimichi Kobayashi
Shimizu location guide: Toshiki Yamazaki
Contact: Atsushi Zuraken
English Subtitle: Hiroshi Sunairi & Sam Bett
COMMENT (Kazuo Hara, a documentary film director):
Iwao Hakamada, veteran of death row, spins his tale in opaque language from another world, relying on a logic all his own. To hear him speak is to feel the brain beckoned toward chaos. Yet for Hakamada, who spent decade after decade in solitary confinement, the persistence of this other world is what has kept him sane. In a disturbing reversal, we begin to recognize our world, the world that drove Hakamada into his own, for the perverse and terrifying place it really is.
Screenings
Theater Release:
Cinemae-ra HAMAMATSU 12/22-12/28/2018
Film Festivals:
Yogyakarta, Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD) 12/1-12/7/2019
The Dharamshala International Film Festival 11/1-11/4/2018
ARKIPEL Jakarta International Documentary/Experimental Film Festival 8/8-8/16/2018
Mt. Fuji Atami Film & VR Festival, Japan 6/28-7/1/2018
The 8th Cambodia International Film Festival 3/5-3/9/2018
Article:
2018/11/25 The seeds of inspiration The Tribune India, Saibal Chatterjee
2018/12/23 袴田さんの映画浜松で上映開始 静岡新聞
2018/12/22 48 years – 沈黙の独裁者 – 監督の舞台挨拶 我ら、地域の仕掛け人！
2018/12/18 袴田さんドキュメンタリー映画 静岡新聞
2018/12/18 袴田さんの日常 映画に 毎日新聞
2018/12/18 袴田巌さん追った映画 中日新聞
2018/08/22 ドキュメンタリー公開 Arkipel じゃかるた新聞
Notes on international competition 5 at Arkipel Niskala H. Utami
2018/070/2 ザ・レセプショニスト最高賞 熱海国際映画祭閉幕 静岡新聞アットエス
2018/07/02 袴田さん題材の作品が特別賞 熱海国際映画祭 朝夕刊/中日新聞しずおか
2018/06/30 袴田さんドキュメンタリー 熱海国際映画祭で上映 静岡新聞アットエス
2018/070/4 ４８年間の孤独に焦点 熱海国際映画祭で国内初上映 産経ニュース
2018/06/15 袴田さん「48年」国内上映へ 中日新聞
2018/05/30 48 years – 沈黙の独裁者 国際映画祭「生の言葉」で表現 静岡新聞
2018/03/16 袴田さん描く映画に脚光 静岡新聞朝刊
Blog:
2018/7/22 熱海国際映画祭特別賞受賞・砂入監督とバッタリ キッチン・ガーデン
Special Thanks: Na Thirakomen, Atsushi Tonosaki, Mari Murakami
Mike Rogers, Koji Kamibayashi, Kayoko Fujita, Kiki Sugino
Masanobu Sakamoto, Masayuki Enomoto, Koji Ono & Mitsuyo Ono
Hamamatsu Citizen Association for Saving Iwao Hakamada
Shimizu Citizen Association for rescuing Iwao Hakamada
Japan Association for Social Justice and Human Rights
early elephant film ⓒ 2018
