YIDFF held an online event Made in Japan YAMAGATA 1989–2021 with focus on films from the festival’s history from January to February, 2022. The selection by YIDFF programmers highlights key works from the festival’s more than three decades in existence. The ten films in Made in Japan Yamagata 1989–2021 trace a curious and inspiring pathway through the history of YIDFF.

Markus Nornes, Professor of Asian Cinema at the University of Michigan who is a longtime friend and colleague of the festival, contributed a series of essays Dr. Markus’ Yamagata Musings.

Dr. Markus’ Yamagata Musings

(1) A Movie Capital Dir: Iizuka Toshio / 1991 / YIDFF ’91 Special Invitation
(2) Living on the River Agano Dir: Sato Makoto / 1992 / YIDFF ’93 Award of Excellence
(3) A Dir: Mori Tatsuya / 1998 / YIDFF ’99 World Special Program, A2 Dir: Mori Tatsuya / 2001 / YIDFF 2001 Special Prize, Citizens’ Prize
(4) Pickles and Komian Club Dir: Sato Koichi / 2021 / YIDFF 2021 Yamagata and Film
(5) The New God Dir: Tsuchiya Yutaka / 1999 / YIDFF ’99 New Asian Currents
(6-final) Storytellers Dirs: Sakai Ko, Hamaguchi Ryusuke / 2013 / YIDFF 2013 SkyPerfectTV IDEHA Prize