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RESCHEDULING OF USHIKU, DOCUMENTARY SCREENING AND Q and A

2021/06/11

Due to the problems with a major CDN last week, many major web sites were down on Tuesday 8th, including Vimeo.

As a result it was not possible to screen the film, Ushiku, last week.
Professor John Williams has rescheduled the screening for next week, June 15th and the Q and with director, Thomas Ash, on the 21st.
Contact Professor John Williams if you would like to attend.
See below for more details:

USHIKU SCREENING AND Q and A (This screening is a CLOSED EVENT ONLY FOR SOPHIA STUDENTS AND STAFF)

On June 21st, from 19.20 we are very privileged to offer a closed screening of the documentary film, Ushiku, the latest work by Tokyo-based, award-winning filmmaker, Thomas Ash. Mr. Ash will join us for a Q and A at the same time on June 15th. The screening is only open to students and staff of the DES at Sophia.  Ushiku was filmed largely at the Ushiku Detention Center for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. It exposes the appalling treatment of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Japan. It is an urgent, important and devastating film that hopefully will help to change the Japanese government’s present inhumane and cruel treatment of vulnerable people.

See the film’s website for more information.

https://www.ushikufilm.com/en/learn/

Synopsis

Ushiku takes viewers deep into the psychological and physical environment inhabited by foreign detainees in one of the largest immigration centres in Japan. On the eve of Japan’s recent – and highly contentious – immigration reform efforts, the media blackout the government has imposed on its immigration centres is bypassed, bringing viewers into immediate contact with the detainees, many of whom are refugees seeking asylum. Detainees are held indefinitely and subject to violent deportation attempts by Japanese authorities against a background of the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic and with the spectacle of the Tokyo Olympics looming on the immediate horizon.

 

Director’s Statement

The participants in this film have given their consent to have their faces shown, their voices heard and their stories shared. Most have given permission for their given name to be used. I am deeply grateful for their trust in sharing their truth, despite the risks. I pray their courageousness and strength will inspire all who witness it to work towards addressing the injustices around them.

——Thomas Ash