Nippon Connection Film Festival was held from June 9th – 14th in Germany.

It was an online festival due to the pandemic. My film “Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan” got the third most views in the documentary category.  I was very happy to receive the good news.

It was a close second (only three views difference) to “i – Documentary of the Journalist” directed by Tatsuya Mori, who is well known for making a documentary about a controversial cult in Japan, Aum Shinrikyo, in 1998. 

It was great to know about this fact, and especially that many people in Germany are interested in Ainu.

I can tell that the festival staff made a big effort to make this first online festival fun and I really appreciate that the staff gave me follow-ups. 

The Nippon Connection’s blog post of my interview “Guest in Focus” still exists here as well as a video interview by festival staffer Maximilan Himpsl.

A German film critic Rouven Linnarz also interviewed me, mostly about  the film’s behind-the-scenes. You can read the interview on Aisan Movie Pulse. He also published it on Film-rezensionen.de  in German.

Thank you for those who helped spread the word. I really had a (virtual) good time at this festival!!