Maelstrom
The Japan Council of the University of Pittsburgh and SCREENSHOT: ASIA are pleased to announce the winner of the third biennial University of Pittsburgh Japan Documentary Film Award: Maelstrom, directed by Mizuko Yamaoka. The film will be screened with the filmmaker in attendance as part of the second SCREENSHOT: Asia Film Festival. The award ceremony will take place on September 29 at 7pm in the Seventh Floor Auditorium of Alumni Hall, immediately followed by the screening of the film. General information about the award and the schedule for events and screenings can be found at www.jdfa.pitt.edu.
Our judges selected Maelstrom, which is Ms. Yamaoka’s story of “loss and return” due to a drastic life change from a car accident that damaged her cervical vertebrae. A profoundly humanist tale of tragedy and rebirth, Ms. Yamaoka’s intimate documentary is both a telling of her own losses and a portrait of human experience.