The Connecting Bridge
- Thursday, May 29, 3:00 p.m. Naxoshalle Kino
- Kakehashi - Kikoenakatta 3.11
架け橋～聞こえなかった3.11 - Japan 2013, Blu-ray, 74 min, Japanese with English subtitles
- Director & world sales: Ayako IMAMURA
- Production: Me-de-Kiku TV
- Camera: Ayako IMAMURA, 7fish, Yoshihiro WATANABE, Hazim FURUKAWA, Kiyoko YANAGI
- German premiere in the presence of the director
- Nippon Visions Jury Award and Nippon Visions Audience Award
Eleven days after the Tohoku earthquake in March 2011, deaf director Ayako IMAMURA visited the affected Miyagi area, where she documented the situation of deaf people over a period of two years and four months. Her film is a strong portrayal of a minority ignored by the government and regular news coverage.
Director biography
Ayako IMAMURA, born in Nagoya, graduated from Aichi University of Education and studied film at California State University, Northridge. Deaf from birth, she has made several documentary films portraying the life of deaf people since 2001. She teaches sign language at Nagoya Gakuin University and at Aichi Gakuin University.
Filmography
2011 Coffee and Pencil (Coffee to enpitsu)