Film Screening "OUR CO-BLIND - An Ethnography of Care among Visually Impaired Communities in Baguio" （Event related to "Doing Fieldwork through an Exhibition: A Case from the Philippines, 2025"）
We will organize an event featuring a screening of the ethnographic film ‘OUR CO-BLIND - An Ethnography of Care among Visually Impaired Communities in Baguio’, followed by a talk with its director, Ushimaru Yoshito, and cultural anthropologist Irina Grigore.
OUR CO-BLIND is an ethnographic film set in the field of Benguet Province, in northern Philippines, capturing the autonomous communities and social movements of visually impaired individuals living in the highland city of Baguio and its surrounding areas. Following the screening, a discussion will be held with Mr. Ushimaru and Irina Grigore, open to all attendees.
This film-screening event is related to "Doing Fieldwork through an Exhibition: A Case from the Philippines, 2025" (For details, please see here)
Overview
●Date：October 18, 2025 (SAT) 15:00〜17:00
●Location：Commons Lab, Room 405, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa
●Moderator：Shu Fujita（TUFS Field Science Commons, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies）
●Language：Japanese
●Admission: Free
●Capacity：30 Persons
●Pre-registration:
If you would like to attend, please register here in advance.
●Contact：fujitashu [at] aa.tufs.ac.jp（Please change [at] to ＠）
●Organizer：TUFS Field Science Commons（TUFiSCo）
Details
Program
|
15:00-15:15 |
Introduction |
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15:15-16:00 |
Screening of "OUR CO-BLIND - An Ethnography of Care among Visually Impaired Communities in Baguio" |
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16:00-17:00 |
Discussion with Mr. Ushimaru and Ms. Irina Grigore |
Profile of the Film Director and Speaker
■Profile of the Film Director
Masato Ushimaru
Director of KISEKI Inc. and photographer for Polaris (an independent magazine). He obtained an MSc in Visual Anthropology from Aarhus University. With a multifaceted background in visual anthropology, photographic criticism, business development, and design, he explores multi-sensory and dynamic approaches to qualitative research, design practice, and creative work that transcend the boundaries of the verbal and non-verbal.
His field of visual-anthropological practice is the Province of Benguet, in northern Philippines. In 2022, he conducted long-term ethnographic research there, producing both an ethnography and an ethnographic film focusing on practices of care and the social movements of visually impaired individuals in the province.
https://masatoushimaru.com/biography
■Profile of the Speaker
Irina Grigore
Cultural anthropologist. Born in Romania in 1984. She first came to Japan in 2006 for study, and returned in 2009 as a recipient of the Japanese Government Scholarship. After earning her master's degree at Hirosaki University, she entered the doctoral program at the University of Tokyo in 2013. Her research focuses on shishimai (lion dance) and women's faith, primarily in Aomori Prefecture. She has also begun fieldwork on women in Vanuatu since 2023. Her main research interests include images, perspectives on nature and death, useful plants, and the concept of souls.