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.

Return to the 2015 film programme