Event
Yamagata Creative Cities
International Conference 2021
Yamagata joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017 and became the first Creative City of Film in Japan. The Yamagata Creative Cities International Conference is an annual conference to share experience, help citizens to understand the role of culture in sustainable urban development, and to promote the UCCN mission.
Yamagata is designated as a city of film but we take our pride in the city’s diverse gastronomy. Therefore, the 2021 theme will be "The Power of Gastronomy and Film.” As a collaborative project with Tsuruoka, a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, we will discover how film can mutually enhance other creative sectors, namely gastronomy, and discuss how to utilize creativity and culture as the sustainable engine to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As we still face the COVID-19 pandemic, we will hold the conference online this year. It will be live streamed and recorded during the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021 (ONLINE) and released on YouTube along with the English subtitles so the wider audiences can access the conference. We are planning to stream the conference on YouTube in December 2021.
*Please note that the live stream event on 12 October will not carry English subtitles or interpretations.
In addition to the conference, we will screen two short documentary films: Yamagata Kokeshi - Artisans of Tradition and Innovation and Yamagata Ramen - Made with noodles, soup, and passion. These films were produced through our local creative project “Yamagata Renaissance Project.” The project creates a series of films that introduce the appeal of Yamagata’s traditional culture and supports local film talents.
*The films will be available on this page from 7 October to 14 October 2021 for FREE.
*The screening of Reviving Recipe requires an application and does not carry English subtitles.
Yamagata Creative Cities
International Conference 2021
Date and Time: Oct 12 [Tue] 14:00
*The Symposium will be live-streamed at the scheduled time.
*Please note that the live stream event on 12 October will not carry English subtitles or interpretations.
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Dialogue
"Gastronomy of Tsuruoka and Yamagata"14:00-15:00
- Panelists:
- Okuda Masayuki (Al-ché-cciano, Owner Chef)
Yamaguchi Mika (Professional Vegetable Sommelier)
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Panel Discussion
"The Power of Gastronomy and Film"15:30-17:30
- Panelists:
- Okuda Masayuki (Al-ché-cciano, Owner Chef)
Soda Kazuhiro (Film Director)
Local Support Collective BAQSAN
Juan Manual Guimerans Rubio (Focal Point, Valladolid UNESCO Creative City of Film)
Screenings
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Reviving Recipes
よみがえりのレシピ
JAPAN / 2011 / Japanese / Color / 95 min Director: Watanabe Satoshi
This is a documentary film featuring heirloom crops and the importance of the relation between food and agriculture. The conference’s guest, Mr. Okuda Masayuki (owner of the restaurant "Al-ché-cciano"), appears in this film. Reviving Recipes will be available for viewing online on Oct 10th (Sun) from 0:00 to 23:59 (JST). Viewers must pre-register. Registration is limited.
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Yamagata Kokeshi – Artisans of Tradition and Innovation
山形こけし 〜工人たちの不易流行〜
JAPAN / 2021 / Japanese / Color / 25 min Director: Sato Koichi
It is said that the traditional kokeshi dolls, which were created in hot spring resorts in the Tohoku region, were first made as children’s toys by wood workers. Among the eleven kokeshi lineages, three lineages of traditional kokeshi are still practiced in Yamagata Prefecture, and each artisan has added their ideas to preserve the kokeshi culture. Yamagata Kokeshi will be available for viewing online free of charge from Oct 7th (Thu) 0:00 to Oct 14th (Thu) 23:59 (JST).
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Yamagata Ramen – Made with noodles, soup, and passion
山形ラ〜メン〜麺と スープと あっつい心と〜
JAPAN / 2021 / Japanese / Color / 23 min Director: Sato Tetsuya
The people of Yamagata truly love ramen. From the viewpoint of Kawai Tan, a cartoonist from Yamagata City, this film discovers the chilled ramen that originated in Yamagata City, exclusive ramen dishes served by a soba restaurant, the new ramen restaurant that purposely opened during the COVID-19 situation, and the restaurateur who decided to carry on his mother’s recipe of fifty years. Yamagata Ramen will be available for viewing online free of charge from Oct 7th (Thu) 0:00 to Oct 14th (Thu) 23:59 (JST).