Nikkei
(Nikkei)
Kaori Flores Yonekura | Documentary
2015 | 80 minutes | Venezuela
A filmmaker explores the history of Japanese immigration to Latin America through her family’s story of migration, memory, and cultural identity.
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Synopsis
Nikkei follows Venezuelan filmmaker Kaori Flores Yonekura as she retraces the journey of her Japanese grandparents from Japan to Peru and, ultimately, Venezuela. What begins as a search for family history becomes an exploration of the larger history of Japanese immigration to Latin America.
Through family photographs, archival material, animation, interviews, and journeys to Japan, Peru, and Venezuela, Yonekura reconstructs her grandfather Rinzo Yonekura’s experience as a Japanese immigrant in Peru and the family’s subsequent move to Venezuela. She also examines the discrimination and upheaval faced by Japanese communities in Latin America during World War II.
As Yonekura pieces together a history that was rarely discussed within her own family, Nikkei explores migration, memory, cultural identity, and what it means to belong to a community shaped by more than one homeland.
Reviews
“Nikkei is a fascinating and artfully constructed documentary that uses photographs, animation, and personal testimony to reconstruct a subject of South American and Japanese history that is rarely presented in cinema.” — Japan House London
“Nikkei explores the complexities of identity and migration in Latin America with deep emotional resonance and historical rigor.” — Sergio Monsalve, El Nacional
“A moving and necessary documentary that unveils the silenced chapters of the Japanese diaspora in South America through a deeply personal lens.” — Alfonso Molina, Ideas de Babel
“An evocative cinematic journey that bridges continents, generations, and personal archives to reveal a poignant narrative of survival and adaptation.” — Pablo Gamba, Tal Cual
“Nikkei reflects one of those stories of identity in Latin America that explain the complexity of our continent through family intimacy.” — Pablo Gamba, Ideas de Babel
“Very faithful to the Japanese minimalist style, Nikkei is also a journey of emotions contained for decades.” — Andrea Ladino, Japonistas Chile
Citation
Coming soon.
Cataloging
A MARC record for this title is not available yet.
Pragda subjects
Culture + Identity
Family
History
Human Rights
International Relations
Latin American Studies
Migration Studies
South America
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Philadelphia Latin American Film Festival; Cine Las Américas International Film Festival; Guadalajara International Film Festival; Lima International Film Festival; Santiago de Chile Ibero-American Film Festival; Venezuelan Film Festival In New York; Vancouver Latin American Film Festival; Helsinki Latin American Film Festival; Ibero-American Documentary Memory Festival; Cinesul International Film and Video Festival; Documenta Caracas - Doc Andino Award; AtlantiDoc; the Ícaro International Film Festival; UNESCO Latin America and the Caribbean Festival
DIRECTOR: Kaori Flores Yonekura
NATIONALITY: Venezuela
YEAR: 2015
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: Adult, College, High School, Middle School
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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