Ema Ryan Yamazaki talks to S. Leo Chiang about her Oscar-nominated short doc in which Japanese first graders, aged no more than 6 or 7, audition for a performance of Ode to Joy to play to the following year’s new intake of pupils.
“For me, it’s basically an attempt to intimately take a look at the Japanese elementary education system, which I went through,” Yamazaki tells Chiang. “It is, I think, quite unique, compared to other places in the world. But doing it through a singular story that captures, in my opinion, the essence of why Japan is the way it is.”
“I think I was that little girl, Ayame, who is basically the protagonist of my film,” Yamazaki adds. “I went in as a 6-year-old, kind of unconfident, a little shy and being put up for these challenges that sometimes seemed impossible, being told I can do better, do more to support the group, don’t cause trouble to the group. And then coming out with these incredible life experiences of feeling a sense of accomplishment, whether it was the music performance or sports day.”
“For me, I went to international school from middle school onwards, and then moved to New York for college. So as I became more and more American or more western, I had a chance to look back at my life and figure out why am I the way I am. Why do people keep complimenting me for my work ethic, for my being on time, my sense of responsibility when, for me, I’m just being Japanese…”
Click on the link above to watch the whole interview between Ema Ryan Yamazaki and S. Leo Chiang.
