Doc/Fest - Sheffield

An hour south of Tokyo, lies the Ikego Hills, a 710-acre area surrounded by a perimeter fence, a third of which houses the families of U.S. servicemen stationed at nearby Yokosuka naval base, with the remainder a densely-forested conservation area. Strictly off-limits to non-military personnel, including locals originally relocated from their homes to make room for an ammunition dump built by the Imperial Navy in 1941. Controversially allocated to the American military by the central government, the land has become highly politicised, with opposition from local citizen’s groups, representing Japan’s first major green movement. Calling into question the arrangement between the two countries that allows America to maintain a military presence in Japan over fifty years after the occupation and following the lead taken by Tsuchimoto Noriaki and the Ogawa Pro collectives later works, Fujiwaras mesmerising documentary is political without being polemic.