Events
Japan Prize 2023
The Japan Prize Festival Week
1:30pm – 3:15pm
Award-winners Screenings & Discussions
Two Kids a Day
(Award for the Best Work in the Lifelong Learning Division)
The documentary is set in a Palestinian town surrounded by Jewish settlements on the West Bank. According to the director Wachsmann, 700 Palestinian children there are arrested by the Israeli forces every year, making Two Kids a Day, the title of this work.
The four boys featured in the documentary were all sentenced to long terms in custody for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Wachsmann explains that the Israeli forces arrest and incarcerate children to undermine the Palestinan community’s opposition to the Jewish settlements. This brave criticism of the Israeli army by an Israeli director has fomented discussion in the region.
How have the Israelis and the Israeli government reacted to this work? What inspired Wachsmann to make it?
* Excerpts of the films introduced in this session have been further edited and shortened for our web page.
-
- L086 Two Kids a Day
- Israel, Finland
- 55 min 20 sec
- Speaker
-
David Wachsmann
Director, Gum Films
- Speaker
-
Mohamad Babai
Co-producer
- Moderator
Nabeelah Shabbir
Freelance Journalist and Senior Research Associate,
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)Netherlands
Nabeelah Shabbir is a British-Pakistani freelance journalist, formerly of British newspaper The Guardian, with stints at the Financial Times, The Correspondent and Twitter. She has co-authored several journalism research reports at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at the University of Oxford, and the Washington-based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), where she is a Senior Research Associate. She has lived and worked in Cologne, Brussels, Paris, London and Oxford, and is now based in Amsterdam. She has many years of experience in transnational, cross-border storytelling and journalistic collaboration in legacy newsrooms, media research institutes, and news start-ups.
- Panelist
Cecilia Nessen
Producer, B-Reel Films
Sweden
Cecilia is a documentary producer focusing on environment and social issues. Her documentaries have premiered in Cannes, Sundance and Venice and won awards such as the Prix Arte for Best European Documentary. Her latest feature film I am Greta won a Guldbagge for Best Documentary and was sold to over 60 countries. Her latest short The Answer to Everything premiered as a NYTimes Opinion Video. Nessen is currently producing Climate in Therapy, a documentary about climate scientists in therapy and Amazomania, an archival study of our current world’s relationship with indigenous cultures and territories.
- Panelist
Randall Okita
Director, Studio Okita
Canada
Randall Okita is a Japanese Canadian artist and filmmaker known for his visually rich work and innovative storytelling. His films have screened at prestigious festivals including Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, and Toronto International Film Festival. His artworks have been exhibited globally, earning him over 20 international awards, including two Canadian Screen Awards, a Webby, and a Japan Prize.
Recent highlights include directing the feature film See for Me (Tribeca Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival), creating the VR experience The Book of Distance (Sundance, Venice, Tribeca), and presenting the solo exhibition A Place Between at Prince Takamado Gallery in Tokyo.
Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Okita currently resides and works in Toronto and Japan. He actively mentors and teaches, nurturing vibrant creative communities that promote communication and collaboration. His favorite road snack is celery.