Storytellers(HKAFF 2021)

From 2011 to 2013, directors Ko Sakai and Ryusuke Hamaguchi recorded the stories of people living in Japan’s Sanriku coastal area, which was devastated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The result is a trilogy of documentaries capturing the hopes, challenges and recollections of survivors. Storytellers, the last film of the trilogy, focuses on folk tales that have been handed down in the Tohoku region. Folklore scholar Kazuko Ono and three storytellers from Miyagi gather to tell and listen to lively and fantastic tales. In so doing, they share not only the rich heritage of the region’s past, but also insights on how to pass on their experiences of disasters to future generations.