Seishin 0

Zero

Forum 2020

Dr. Yamamoto is a psychiatrist, 82 years old and about to give up his practice. In the sixties, he fought for closed psychiatric institutions to open their doors; the film Seishin, also by Kazuhiro Soda (Berlinale Forum 2008), centred on his achievements in life. This serves as the jumping off point for Seishin 0: Dr. Yamamoto receives his patients for the last time, the camera watches patiently, recording the smallest movements and gestures, the worries, the silences, the sadness and the solace. After the practice has closed, the film shifts its focus to the relationship between Mr. Yamamoto and his wife, who is suffering from dementia. His loving patience remains the most striking element; it makes the film into a document of a humanism that frees itself of any trace of sentimentality as it observes shortcomings, weakness and mental decline with ever greater precision, grasping them in tandem as simply part of human existence.

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by Kazuhiro Soda
with Masatomo Yamamoto, Yoshiko Yamamoto Japan / USA 2020 Japanese 128’ Colour Documentary form

With

Masatomo Yamamoto
Yoshiko Yamamoto

Crew

Director	Kazuhiro Soda
Cinematography	Kazuhiro Soda
Editing	Kazuhiro Soda
Sound	Kazuhiro Soda
Producers	Kiyoko Kashiwagi, Kazuhiro Soda

World sales

Asian Shadows

Produced by

Laboratory X

Photos

Kazuhiro Soda

Born in Ashikaga, Japan in 1970. He studied religion at the University of Tokyo and filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He practices an observational method of documentary filmmaking based on his own “Ten Commandments”. He has made eleven feature-length documentaries with this method, which have screened and received prizes at festivals worldwide. He is also the author of nine books published in Japanese, one of which, “Why I Make Documentaries”, has been translated into English, Korean and Chinese.

Filmography (selection)

1995 A Night in New York; 10 min. · A Flower and a Woman; 5 min. 1996 Freezing Sunlight; 85 min. 1997 The Flicker; 17 min. 2001 Intanetto de Kazoku ga Umareru (Internet Adoption); 59 min. 2005 Mafuyu no 111 (111 First in Winter); 20 min. · Soshite Musuko ha Korosareta (My Son Was Killed); 20 min. 2007 Senkyo (Campaign); 120 min., Forum 2007 2008 Seishin (Mental); 135 min., Forum 2009 2010 Peace; 75 min. 2012 Engeki 1 (Theatre 1); 172 min. · Engeki 2 (Theatre 2); 170 min. 2013 Senkyo 2 (Campaign 2); 149 min. 2015 Kaki Kouba (Oyster Factory); 145 min. 2018 The Big House; 119 min. · Minatomachi (Inland Sea); 122 min., Forum 2019 2024 Gokogu no Neko (The Cats of Gokogu Shrine)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024