- 14 Mar 2002
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I have already posted the video once here, but I would like to repost Ema Ryan Yamazaki's "Instruments of a Beating Heart", as it won "Best Short Documentary". It is a contender for the 2025 Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Short category. It was also selected for the DOC NYC's 2024 Shorts Shortlist and is a 2025 Cinema Eye Honors Shorts List Semifinalist for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking.
In "Instruments of a Beating Heart," second-graders in a Tokyo public elementary school form an orchestra to perform "Ode to Joy." Ayame, a student who often struggles to keep up with the group, is determined to play a major part: the cymbal. The film examines the Japanese educational system's tenuous balance between collective cooperation and individual growth as it teaches the next generation to become part of society.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese-British documentary filmmaker and editor who recently edited and co-produced Shiori Ito's acclaimed "Black Box Diaries." She has directed three feature documentaries: "The Making of a Japanese" (2023), "Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams" (2019) and "Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators" (2017). "Instruments of a Beating Heart" was produced by Eric Nyari of Cineric Creative and co-produced by NHK, Japan's public media organization.
www.japantimes.co.jp
The film has drawn much international attention and prompted several European school delegations to visit Japan to experience the local elementary school experience firsthand. I have watched it twice and find it impressive, both the movie's making and the teaching staff's dedication and commitment.
In "Instruments of a Beating Heart," second-graders in a Tokyo public elementary school form an orchestra to perform "Ode to Joy." Ayame, a student who often struggles to keep up with the group, is determined to play a major part: the cymbal. The film examines the Japanese educational system's tenuous balance between collective cooperation and individual growth as it teaches the next generation to become part of society.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese-British documentary filmmaker and editor who recently edited and co-produced Shiori Ito's acclaimed "Black Box Diaries." She has directed three feature documentaries: "The Making of a Japanese" (2023), "Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams" (2019) and "Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators" (2017). "Instruments of a Beating Heart" was produced by Eric Nyari of Cineric Creative and co-produced by NHK, Japan's public media organization.
Documentarian praises the positives of stricter schooling
“The Making of a Japanese” director Ema Ryan Yamazaki reflects on the role of the Japanese educational system in creating empathetic children.
The film has drawn much international attention and prompted several European school delegations to visit Japan to experience the local elementary school experience firsthand. I have watched it twice and find it impressive, both the movie's making and the teaching staff's dedication and commitment.
