Visual Documentary Project 2015 Film Screening and Discussion "Human Flows: Movement in Southeast Asia"

Southeast Asia is rich in its diversity of ethnic, religious, and cultural composition. The region has maintained the coexistence of such diversity while at the same time achieving economic progress and becoming a hub for the flow of people, goods, money, and information. Yet at present, the region is also confronted with serious issues such as the decrease of biodiversity and tropical forests, natural disasters, pandemics, aging population, ethnic and religious conflicts, economic differentiation, and poverty.

How are coexistence and sustainability possible in such a diverse region with so many problems to contend with? How can we make public resources out of the region's social foundations, which are the basis of everyday life for local people, and integrate them with existing systems of governance in a complementary way towards solving the problems and issues mentioned above?

　Initiated in 2012 by Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), the Visual Documentary Project aims to address these questions by explicitly examining the contours of everyday life in Southeast Asia through a visual approach -- with documentary films that complement the growing literature on local societies. In 2014, the Japan Foundation Asia Center became the project's co-organizer to help introduce the richness of Southeast Asian cultures to a larger audience in Japan. In addition, the project has linked up with numerous film schools across the region to form an extensive documentary filmmaking network.

In FY2015, the organizers invited filmmakers in 11 countries across Southeast Asia as well as Japan to submit short documentary films on the theme of "Human Flows: Movement in Southeast Asia". The 23 March film screening will present five works selected from among the 50 submissions received, to be followed by a discussion by the directors and commentators.