ReD Associates

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One Day We Arrived In Japan


We feature an original documentary by Aaron Litvin and Ana Paula Hirano from 2018


One Day We Arrived in Japan is the story of three families who leave Brazil in search of a better future in Japan. Told mostly through on-the-ground interview footage, the film is a raw, intimate window into the complex experience of uprooting one’s life and adapting to new – sometimes alienating – environments. In the film, co-directors Aaron Litvin and Ana Paula Hirano (a consultant at ReD) trace the families’ experiences over ten years, artfully revealing the ways in which our expectations of the future rarely line up with reality. 

“We wanted to see how people adjust and feel a sense of belonging when transported into new ecologies, cultures, and countries,” says Ana Paula. “We saw that the families struggled to belong to this new culture in many ways: language, food, clothing, music, new routines, prejudice, race, body language, climate, visas, social structures, social rules, norms – there was an overload of new dimensions. Many of the migrants worked in factories – where most other workers were also from abroad – so it was difficult for our participants to build bonds with Japanese people.” 

Brazil has the largest population of Japanese descendants in the world outside Japan. In 1990, the Japanese government passed a law allowing second and third-generation Japanese descendants and their families to live and work in Japan, which for many Brazilians looking for better economic opportunities was an attractive option. As the film lays bare, however, the transition is anything but simple. 

“There is often a disconnect when higher, bigger institutions make decisions without considering more cultural aspects,” says Ana Paula. “For example, the decision taken by the Japanese government to accept second and third generations of Japanese descent to work in Japan for their blood relation and ‘cultural proximity’ without looking more deeply into the differences and challenges that Japanese-Brazilians would face to adapt to the new culture.” 

In the film, the three families do not speak much Japanese or identify strongly with Japanese culture and society, and that is a major reason why they have such a challenging experience. In spite – or perhaps because – of this, small moments that signal positive connection to individuals and Japanese society more widely become even more charged and provide illuminating snapshots into how a sense of belonging, connection or feelings of togetherness can be activated. For example, Paulo sees a possibility of career growth inside the Japanese factory system, and Bruno finds moments of belonging with a Japanese friend. “We didn’t want statistics or quantitative data,” says Ana Paula. “We wanted to be immersed in the lives of others. We wanted to go beyond the macro-socioeconomic perspective and use the lens to find the ‘micro stories’ that spoke to these larger truths.” 

Watch the full film below.

Credits:

Aaron Litvin: co-director, producer

Ana Paula Hirano: co-director 

For more information, please visit onedaywearrivedinjapan.com. If institutions are interested in purchasing or screening the film please contact the producer Aaron Litvin here.


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