FRIDAY 11.09.2026 – 13.45

This film features three Ainu individuals whose ancestors were compelled to relinquish their language and hunting traditions in order to survive, as each seeks to reclaim what is at risk of being lost in their own way. It is conceived with the hope of fostering empathy between audiences and the Ainu people living today. Directed by Oki, a player of the tonkori—a traditional stringed instrument of the Sakhalin Ainu—this work stands as the first full-scale documentary in which the Ainu themselves portray their own community. As an antithesis to the many documentaries in which the Ainu were compelled, through the lens of others, to adopt a “dressed up” persona, this film takes “everyday life” as its central theme.