Ogawa Shinsuke and Ogawa Pro: Dokkoi! Songs from the Bottom

One of the most moving films made by Ogawa Productions, a portrait of the people living in the slums of Kotobuchi in the port city of Yokohama. The filmmakers give voice to the silenced people who tell their stories and sing their songs.

After the waning of the protests in Sanrizuka, Ogawa Pro started questioning the future of the collective and looking for other subjects to film. Following the method developed in the previous films, the filmmakers moved to the slum of Kotobuchi in the port city of Yokohama, where more than 6000 people were struggling to get by without any means of survival, exposed to industrial accidents and diseases. The result is one of the most moving films produced by the collective, a series of beautifully filmed portraits, voicing the silenced stories and songs of a group of people living in this community.

Dokkoi! Songs from the Bottom (Dokkoi! Ningen bushi – Kotobukicho: Jiyu rodosha no machi), Japan 1975, 16mm, b/w 121 mins, Japanese with English subtitles.

With thanks to the Athénée Français Cultural Centre (Matsumoto Masamichi, Takasaki Ikuko), Hirasawa Go, Jed Rapfogel.

We are offering a special multibuy deal for the Ogawa Season: book tickets for 2-5 screenings and get them for £9 each, or 6-9 screenings and get them for £8 each.