Japanese Documentary Film on Basque Culture Screened at TUFS

February 19, 2019

On Saturday the 15th of December 2018, “Ama Lur”, a film documenting Basque culture, was screened by TUFS Cinema at AGORA Global’s Prometheus Hall.
This film is a documentary film that was a joint project between Tadayoshi Himeda, the Center for Ethnological Visual Documentation, and Professor Jacques Ruffié of Collège de France, and was released in 1981.
Putting a spotlight on the lifestyle of shepherds, this film captures and depicts the foundational concepts of Basque society, such as “etxe” (house) and “etxeko andrea” (woman of the house), and various aspects of traditional Basque culture, such as festivals and rituals, through an indifferent yet warm lens.
After the screening, a talk session was held by Dai Himeda (Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, part-time lecturer), Ran Himeda (Center for Ethnological Visual Documentation, trustee) and TUFS Professor Sho Hagio. Many topics were discussed, including Tadayoshi Himeda, the period of the film, and all things Basque. Dai and Ran Himeda are Tadayoshi Himeda’s children.
This screening was attended by many people from both inside and outside of TUFS. A film crew even came all the way from Basque Country to report on the event. Attendees left many comments such as “I was moved by Basque culture, and now I want to know more”, “From now on I want to travel around and see many places from the viewpoints of their indigenous cultures”, and “I hope TUFS Cinema keeps screening outstanding films from around the world like this one.”