The Sound of the Waves

なみのおと

Sakai Ko, Hamaguchi Ryusuke

Japan/142min./2011

nami_no_otoThe first part of a trilogy focusing on the northeast Tohoku region, co-directed by Sakai Ko and Hamaguchi Ryusuke. Impromptu interviews were carried out with disaster victims mainly along the Sanriku Coast, which had been ravaged by tsunamis several times prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, and makes emotional discoveries within dialogues between close-knit people including families and workmates.
The Sanriku Coast has a history of frequent tsunami damage, including a massive one in March of 1933. The directors capture footage of interaction between married couples, sisters, and other closely-linked individuals. For brief moments, memories of lost scenery reappear.
Title in English The Sound of the Waves
Title in Original Language なみのおと
Director(s) Sakai Ko, Hamaguchi Ryusuke
Director's Bio/Filmography Ko Sakai
Born 1979 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Currently based in Tokyo. Began producing his own film while a student at the Tokyo University o Agriculture. After graduating and entering the workforce, Sakai Ko entered a Graduate School of Film and New Media at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2005. His thesis film was Creep (2007). His other work includes Home Sweet Home (2006). Currently based in Sendai and continuing to record Tohoku folklores in Miyagi with people in “Storytellers”(one of Tohoku Documentary trilogy).

Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Born 1978 in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. Currently based in Kobe. After graduating from the Literture Department of Tokyo University and working as an assistant director for film and television, Hamaguchi entered the Guraduate School of Film and New Media at the Tokyo University of Arts. His thesis film was Passion (2008). He has directed several theatrical films including Intimacies (2012), and Touching the Skin of Eeriness (2013). Currently based in Kobe where he facilitates an improvisational acting workshop and is shooting a feature length film with participants as actors.
Year of Completion 2011
Nationality of the Film Japan
Running Time 142 min.
Aspect Ratio Video: 16:9
Color Color
Screening Format BDDVD
Shooting Locations Kesen'numa, Minamisanriku, Ishinomaki, Higashimatsushima, Shinchimachi
Shooting Dates/Periods
Names of Characters
Language of Commentary and Dialogue Japanese,
Subtitles English,
Date of First Public Screening 2012/7/28
Place of First Public Screening (Country)
Date of First Public Screening in Japan
Previous Screenings at Other Film Festivals and Events YIDFF 2011 Cinema with Us [YIDFF rough-cut edition]
International Film Festival Locarno 2012
Staff Credits Photography: Kitagawa Yoshio
Sound: HWANG Young Chang
Producer Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts (Horikoshi Kenzo, Fujihata Masaki)
Distributor / Distribution Company silent voice LLP
Official Website for the Film http://silentvoice.jp/naminooto/
Other Online Access to the film http://www.silentvoice.jp/
Screenings at the Past YIDFF Programs and Events YIDFF 2011
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