Kazuhiro Soda

Director

Born in 1970, Kazuhiro Soda lived in Japan until 1993, when he moved to New York to begin his career in film. After directing several documentaries for Japanese television (NHK) from New York, Soda began creating his own feature-length documentaries independently. Oyster Factory is the fifth in his Observational Film series, following Campaign (2007) and Mental (2008) Theatre 1 and 2 (2012).

2007 – Campaign (Senkyo)

2008 – Mental (Seishin)

2010 – Peace

2011 – Home

2013 – Campaign 2 (Senkyo 2)

2018 – The Big House

2020 – Professeur Yamamoto (Seishin 0)

Filmography

2007 – Campaign (Senkyo)

2008 – Mental (Seishin)

2010 – Peace

2011 – Home

2013 – Campaign 2 (Senkyo 2)

2018 – The Big House

2020 – Professeur Yamamoto (Seishin 0)

ZERO (Seishin 0)
2020, Documentary, Observational Film #9, 128 minutes
– MoMA Doc Fortnight ‘Centerpiece’ 2020
– Berlinale Forum 2020

THE BIG HOUSE
2018, Documentary, Observational Film #8, 119 minutes
– Berlinale Critics’ Week 2018
– Sheffield Doc/Fest
– Ann Arbor Film Festival

INSIDE SEA (Minatomachi)
2018, Documentary, Observational Film #7, 122 minutes
– Berlinale
– IDFA
– HKIFF
– Cinema du Réel
– Art of the Real

OYSTER FACTORY (Kaki Kouba)
2015, Documentary, Observational Film #6, 145 minutes
– Kinotayo Film Festival, Audience Award
– Locarno Film Festival
– Festival des 3 Continents
– HKIFF
– Vancouver IFF

CAMPAIGN 2 (Senkyo 2)
2013, Documentary, Observational Film #5, 149 minutes
– Cinema du Réel
– Dubai IFF
– MoMA Doc Fortnight
– HKIFF

THEATRE 2 (Engeki 2)
2012, Documentary, Observational Film #4, 170 minutes
– Festival des 3 Continents, Young Jury’s Prize
– Busan IFF
– Japan Foundation Support Program for Film and Visual Media Production on Japan

THEATRE 1 (Engeki 1)
2012, Documentary, Observational Film #3, 172 minutes
– Festival des 3 Continents, Young Jury’s Prize
– Busan IFF
– Japan Foundation Support Program for Film and Visual Media Production on Japan

HOME
2011, Documentary, Observational Film Extra, 3 minutes 11 seconds
As a part of 311 A Sense of Home Films, curated by Naomi Kawase

PEACE
2010, Documentary, Observational Film Extra, 75 minutes
– Tokyo Filmex, Audience Award
– HKIFF, Best Documentary Award
– Visions du Réel, Buyens-Chagall Prize
– DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival, Opening Film

MENTAL (Seishin)
2008, Documentary, Observational Film #2, 135 minutes
– Berlinale Forum
– Busan IFF, Best Documentary
– Dubai IFF, Best Documentary
– Miami IFF, Special Jury Mention
– HKIFF, Outstanding Documentary Award
– Visions du Réel, Inter-religious Jury Prize
– Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund, Post-production grant
– Asian Pacific Screen Award 2009 Nomination

CAMPAIGN (Senkyo)
2007, Documentary, Observational Film #1, 120 minutes
– Berlinale Forum
– Peabody Award 2008
– Belgrade IFF, Best Film