Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Kaneko Yuu Cast: Local Coordinator, Subtitle Translation: Ito Yuma I want you to feel the weight of various words and the richness of nature.

The film "Mlabri Forest" was made possible by the meeting of two people from different professions: a film director and a linguist. This is the world's first successful visual anthropology documentary film of the Mlabri people, who live a nomadic life in the jungles of Laos. We spoke to director Kaneko Yu about the highlights of this film, which examines what wealth means to humanity and what is truly important, and his thoughts on the project.

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Director, Cinematographer, and Editor: Kaneko Yu

■ Profile

Filmmaker and critic. Associate Professor at Tama Art University. His theatrically released films include "Belgrade 1999" (2009), "Muneoism" (2012), and "Imperial" (2014). His recent work, "The Man Who Became a Movie" (2018), will be released in theaters nationwide on March 11, 2022. His produced film, "Garden Apartment" (2018), was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Osaka Asian Film Festival before being released in theaters. "Mlabri in the Forest" (2019) is his fifth feature-length documentary film.
He won the Suntory Academic Prize in the Arts and Literature category for his book "The Borders of Film." His other works include "Folklore of the Periphery," "Literature of Foreign Lands," "Documentary Film Techniques," "On the Mixed-Race Archipelago," and "Criticism of Pleasure." He has co-edited and co-authored books such as "Apichatpong Weerasethakul" and "Jean Rouch: The Border-Crossing Visual Anthropology," and co-translated books such as "Making" by Tim Ingold and "Violence and Brilliance" by Alfonso Lingis. He is an editorial committee member for the documentary magazine neoneo, program director for the Tokyo Documentary Film Festival, and a member of the Institute of Art Anthropology.

■ Filming began with the desire to "make my own movie"

　My family loved movies, so I was naturally exposed to many films from a young age. As a result, I had a vague idea from a young age that I wanted to work in a film-related field. I made my debut as a film writer when I was a university student. After that, I worked producing video tape for television programs and promotional videos for companies until I was 30. However, I gradually became dissatisfied with that work and began to think, "I want to make my own films," so I began making works on 8mm film while traveling around the world.

■ Don't miss a chance encounter

　Working as a documentary film director, I feel that filming is an adventure. My film, "Mlabri Forest," is about the Mlabri, an ethnic minority group of only about 400 people who live in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand and western Laos. Until recently, both men and women were nearly naked, living a nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering small animals and plants.
However, it was purely by chance that I ended up making a documentary about the Mlabri people.

　Initially, I went to Thailand and Cambodia with the intention of writing an anthropological book, not filming. Then, while visiting the Mlabri people, I happened to meet Yuma Ito, a linguist who speaks the Mlabri language. When Ito told me that he wanted to bring the three Mlabri groups together, I immediately suggested, "Why not make a documentary?" I always keep myself open, never missing a chance encounter (laughs). I think the reason I can feel this thrill is because I'm the one filming. I actually think that being the one filming is the most interesting. The fun of groping your way through, not knowing what you'll create. And the joy you feel when it's finished is something you can't experience anywhere else.

■The highlight is the difference in lifestyle between the Mlabri people who live in Thailand and Laos

　The most interesting thing about this site is the contrast between the environments of the Mlabri people on the Thai side and those of the Mlabri people on the Laotian side. The Mlabri people on the Thai side were discovered by civilized people and asked to settle there. However, due to slash-and-burn agriculture by the surrounding Hmong people, the Mlabri people lost their habitation area, and as a result, they became day laborers for the Hmong people.

　On the other hand, Laos is a socialist country, so there are no efforts to make the Mlabri people part of the nation, and the Mlabri people still have their homes in the natural forests, where they are able to live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. We tend to think that as democratization advances, culture will progress and the environment will be cared for. However, in Thailand, where democratization is progressing, the environment is rapidly being destroyed, and the Mlabri people are no longer able to live their lives as before. Meanwhile, in Laos, a socialist country, the environment still remains, and they are able to live as before. I would like you to compare the two and see which is more progressive and prosperous.

■My next challenge is to spread the word about visual anthropology

　I would like to create a film set in Africa, such as on West African Vodun. I have also been deepening my knowledge of visual anthropology. In the future, I would like to make visual anthropology accessible to the general public, not just researchers. Every year, I host the Tokyo Documentary Film Festival. Last year, the festival launched a competition called the Anthropology and Ethnography Film Category. I would like to expand this category so that the general public can also watch films that deal with anthropology, and I would like to promote it as a genre in its own right.

■Message to university students

　Cherish the 10 years of your 20s. If you only consider the option of graduating from university and getting a job, you won't have time to build the foundation for the goals you want to reach when you reach your 30s and 40s. No matter how difficult it may be, it's better to cling to your desire to do something in your 20s. If you miss your once-in-a-lifetime time in your 20s, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. The most important thing is the courage to jump into the world of what you want to do. To do this, it's important to find a mentor, win a contest, and build your self-confidence while you're young.

Student Newspaper Online Meiji Gakuin University 2nd year student Hinako Okamura

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Cast, local coordinator, and subtitle translator: Yuma Ito

■ Profile

Born in 1986 in Shimane Prefecture. Linguist. Since 2018, he has been a full-time lecturer at Toyama International University, retiring in 2020 to go independent. As of 2022, he is a special research fellow at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and a visiting researcher at Yokohama City University. He travels to Thailand and Laos to investigate language and culture, as well as the relationship between the body and language. His second-best language after his native language is Mlabri. His papers include "Grammar Sketch of Mlabri" (Collection of Linguistic Descriptions by the Institute of Global Studies) and "The heart's downward path to happiness: cross-cultural diversity in spatial metaphors of affect" (Cognitive Linguistics, co-author).

■Why Linguistics?

　When I decided to go to university, I didn't feel comfortable choosing one specialty, so I thought about studying things related to many different fields. As a result, I decided to study linguistics, as there is no field that doesn't involve language. After graduating from graduate school, I wanted to do research, so I became a university professor, but I felt that I was being too busy to do research and that this was counterproductive, so I now work independently as a linguist.

■ The rewards of being a linguist

　I don't think of linguistics as a job. The reason I started researching the Mlabri language was because "it sounds nice." I'm just doing what I love. When I say doing what I love, it sounds nice, but I think there are pitfalls. I wanted to study the sound of the Mlabri language, but since the language does not have a written form, I first collected vocabulary and studied the meanings of words and dialects.

■What were the difficulties you faced while working with Muraburi?

　The food was basically seasoned with salt. The difference in taste was whether it was strong salt or weak salt. It did get boring (lol). But I wanted to eat what they were eating and wanted to become closer friends with them, so I ate with them.
　It also took time to open up to them. I needed research and data, and I had the experience of being pressured to tell them my story in exchange for money, but they were reluctant. I realized that the first thing to do was to talk to them and take an interest in their lives, and once I did that, I changed my research and my way of thinking, and I was able to conduct rich research.

■ Highlights of "Murabuli of the Forest"

　A highlight is the scene where two groups, both Mlabri but with different linguistic backgrounds, meet. I didn't know what would happen when two groups that hadn't met for 100 years met, but I was moved to see with my own eyes something I had only heard about: identifying groups by the way they use language. We too unconsciously use dialects or the language of specific circles to feel a sense of identity. At first glance, this scene may seem unusual, but we do it every day. I think it will be interesting if you can feel a sense of familiarity while watching.

■ Future goals

　Even though I was researching the same Mlabri language, when I tried to earn a living, I started thinking in terms of marketing, trying to make something that would sell and be read more. I struggled with whether this research was what I wanted to do, and rather than enjoying doing what I wanted, I felt pained that I couldn't do what I wanted. I want to be the kind of person who can always pursue what I want to do. In order to achieve this, I believe I need to support myself, in other words, be self-sufficient, and I am currently building a dome to serve as my home. By being self-sufficient, I will be able to better pursue the things I want to do and my interests.

■Message to university students

　Try being lonely. Try being alone.
　Once you enter society, it's hard to find time for yourself. I live a life free of ties, but I still often find myself drifting away from what I want to do and who I want to be. It's hard to realize who you want to be when you're surrounded by people. I think it might be a good idea to think about it alone.

Student Newspaper Online Rikkyo University 2nd year student Sugawara Raisuke

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