WE DON'T NEED A GRAVE # 256
11:00, Wednesday 17th June, Cinema 3
Director/Anthropologist: Satbyul KIM, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies
Year of Release: 2014
Duration: 27 mins
Country of Production: Japan
Location: Japan
Ethnic Group: Japanese
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
The film attempts to show how the people who choose shizenso rather than typical family grave try to accept one’s death. Shizenso means a natural mortuary practice that has no religious affiliation. It scatters cremation ashes of the deceased in the ocean and mountains. During the 1990s in Japan, shizenso emerged as a citizen movement due to the changes in social attitudes towards family and religion. The film recounts stories of members from Grave-Free-Promotion Society (GFPS) who practice shizenso. It explores not only this unique practice of departing one’s beloved ones but also the mixed emotions of those who practice it.