Added to inquiry!
DOCUMENTARY

Laugh It Away and Say Goodbye

DOCUMENTARY 2010 55 min Episode(s): 1 english English
Winner of Best News Documentary at Monte-Carlo TV Festival 2011
Grand Prize at The Age of Regionalism Video Festival 2011
Grand Prize at “Era of Local” TV Festival 2010


Small and medium-sized businesses are the back bones of Japan that support the economy from the bottom-up. However, as work decreased sharply after the Lehman Shock, many life changes were in order for smaller businesses.

Without the work of numerous subcontractors, the manufacturing of Toyota cars, Japan’s top brand, would simply not be possible.

This documentary takes an up-close and personal look at a tiny Toyota subcontractor, four steps down the supply chain. In a 7.5 square-meter factory, the owner, a lively 56-year-old woman, works with two other housewives who live nearby. This work consists of gluing small parts together.

All seems well in this cozy factory until one day in the fall of 2008, a global recession is triggered by the fall of Lehman Brothers. Suddenly, sales of Toyota cars dry up.

How does the owner of this tiny factory deal with the crisis?

Despite the grim reality, the factory is always filled with laughter.

What can we learn from this upbeat story of business closure?

Click here to preview the program!

  •  

    An Eden for Two
    2016

    US International Film & Video Festival 2017 Entertainment Category  Gold Camera Award After World War 2, Japan experienced an economic boom and became a wealthy society. One couple fought against materialism, choosing otherwise to live deep in the mountains without electricity, a telephone, or plumbing. This program shows how these...
    more details
  •  

    The 40th Otsuna Festival -Invigorating a Community-
    2018 30 mins

    [Festivals of Japan Season 2] Half-naked men pull on a giant white rope. Eighty meters long and about a ton in weight, the rope is the central focus of the Tosa City Otsuna Festival. Originally an Edo Period tradition, the festival was brought back by people hoping to energize a community...
    more details
  •  

    Okinoshima
    2017

    2018 World Media Festival Intermedia-globe Silver  Okinoshima is not only an island of national treasure but also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its beauty and history. This documentary expresses the beauty of nature on the island and the treasures found there, and also follows the lives...
    more details
  •  

    Okada village's proud pure CottonChita city, Aichi Pref.
    2014 30mins

    [Beauty of Japan Season 1] Sarashi (untreated) cotton fabric can be used in many ways. Since the early time of the Edo period, Chita Sarahi, produced in Okada village, in Chita city, has been sold in Edo, and it resulted to become the biggest cotton-weaving city. The manufacturers have now...
    more details