Through our Indiegogo campaign we have raised $24,029 .
We could have never done it without the support of all of you.
Thank you so much!!
It has been an incredibly humbling and overwhelming experience and this film is truly a co-creation of all of our collective desires to share the Hafu experience with Japan and the greater world.
Thank you everyone, we couldn't do this without you!!
While our campaign is over it is still possible to pre-order your copy of your DVD (5000 yen) or have your name on the end credits (10,000yen includes DVD) through our paypal account.
With an ever increasing movement of people between places in this transnational age, there is a mounting number of mixed-race people in Japan, some visible others not. "Hafu" is the unfolding journey of discovery into the intricacies of mixed-race Japanese and their multicultural experience in modern day Japan. The film follows the lives of five "hafus"--the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese--and by virtue of the fact that living in Japan, they are forced to explore what it means to be multiracial and multicultural in a nation that once proudly proclaimed itself as the mono-ethnic nation. For some of these hafus Japan is the only home they know, for some living in Japan is an entirely new experience, and others are caught somewhere between two different worlds.
David was born in a small village in Ghana, to a Ghanaian mother and a Japanese father. His father, an architect, was in Ghana to build the Noguchi Hideo Memorial when he met David's mother. After spending 6 years in Ghana, they moved to Tokyo. However due to difficulty of adjusting to their new life in Japan, his parents filed for divorce when he was 10. The next 8 years were spent in an orphanage school in Japan with his two brothers. There he discovered his greatest passion: music and performance. He started modeling when he was a university student and now works as a multitalented TV presenter. Due to his dark complexion, David is regarded by default as a gaijin (foreigner) when people meet him for the first time. However, having spent much of his life in Japan, he feels he acts and identifies as Japanese more than anything else. Despite this claim David, has returned to Ghana once a year since the age of 20. Seeing the dramatic difference between the two countries, David felt the call to use his talents to benefit the people of Ghana. He has set an ambitious goal of raising $30,000 over the course of 8 months in order to build kindergarten back in Ghana. Audiences will watch him as he organizes various fundraisers and events has he struggles to attain his goal.
Gabriela (Mexican, 37) and Tetsuya Oi (Japanese, 41) met when they were students both studying abroad in the United States. They fell in love, married and moved to Nagoya, Japan. In 2001, they welcomed a baby boy- Alex and then two years later Sara. Alex (3rd grade) and Sara (1st grade) have been attending Japanese elementary school. However, worried about how her children can straddle three languages (Spanish, Japanese, and English), Gabriela has started to explore alternative educational options. Alex has also been showing physical symptoms of stress both from being teased by fellow classmates and falling behind in class due to dealing with three languages. Gabriela has made the tough decision of sending him to the more expensive private international school. Alex will begin at his new school in August while Sara will continue to at Japanese school. Through the Oi's, this film will explore the joys and challenges parents face in raising multi-cultural children.
Edward (28) was born in Valencia, Venezuela to a Japanese mother and a Venezuelan Father. When he was 3 years old his mother brought him back to Japan where he grew up in a single mother home, close to her and his grandmother. Despite having lived almost entirely in Japan, Ed has been raised with Venezuelan citizenship.
He recently married Kenza(27), who also happens to be a hafu (Algerian and Japanese) and was born and raised in Japan. Ed met Kenza through Mixed Roots Kansai, one of the leading diversity organizations in Japan for which he founded. Due to his marriage and new life, Ed is currently considering naturalizing to become Japanese, however in order to do so he must give up his only connection to Venezuela- his passport. What will he decide?
In Eds story we will explore what it means to be in an interracial marriage between hafus, as well as the process he must go through to become an Japanese national .
Sophia (27) was born and raised to an Australian mother and a Japanese father in Sydney, Australia. When Sophia’s Japanese grandmother moved into an old peoples home, the opportunity came for Sophia to live in her grandmother’s house in Tokyo. She made the decision of starting a journey in search of her roots and come to Japan, leaving behind a comfortable job, her friends, family and boyfriend.
She is determined to make a life for herself in Japan, immersing herself in the culture while attempting to learn the language from zero. Will Japan live up to her expectations? Will she be able to integrate? and ultimately how will she identify after her time here?
Fusae (34) was born and raised in Kobe, Japan, to a Korean father, a naturalized Japanese citizen, and a Japanese mother. She learnt of her Korean roots when she was 16 from her mother- a traumatic experience for her at the time. Although she was unaware of her Korean background as a child, she now clearly remembers how her paternal grandmother spoke Korean and cooked Korean food. After this revelation, she began exploring differences between Japanese and Korean culture. But 18 years later she is still struggling to redefine her place in society as a Korean/Japanese descendant. She has recently become actively involved in Mix Roots Kansai. She feels by helping to organize such social events, she is helping younger people like her find acceptance with their mixed identities.
Was born in Tokyo, and raised in various cities of the World.
Her father is Spanish and her mother is Japanese.
She graduated in Audiovisual Communications and Multimedia Science in Madrid, at the Francisco de Vitoria and Complutense University in 2005. Here she wrote and directed 2 short films and one promotion video. She also participated in many other student films as well as creative design projects. These were the key creations that integrated her into the film industry.
As her appetite for cinematography continued flourishing, she came to Tokyo on a Government Scholarship and explored her dual identity. She worked as a freelancer in Japanese production companies and entered Waseda University's Graduate School of GITS, where she completed a MA in the Multimedia Science and Arts area and directed her first long-length documentary "Madrid x Tokyo" that was shown in the opening week of the Cervantes Institute of Tokyo. At the same time she participated in the creation of the film "Acrobats" as first assistant director and co-producer.
Is passionate about addressing our global and social issues through the power of film and video. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of Arts in Film and Television Production, she has been telling stories through the medium of documentary filmaking in the hope of reminding us of our common humanity.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Megumi has also lived in Manila, Beijing, Honolulu, New York, DC, London, Berlin and Los Angeles. She attributes her drive for filmmaking to her multicultural upbringing.
She has produced documentaries for the United Nations, Associated Press, and various NGOs and foundations. Her films have been screened on television, at film festivals, at the 2004 World Social Forum and at the Whitney Museum of American Art 2006 Biannual in New York City.
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VOLUNTEER
We are currently looking for help in the following:
Event Organizers
Bloggers
Graphic Designer
Transcribers
Translators Japanese - English
Outreach
Fundraising
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Contact us at info_hafufilm.com
If you make a donation over $50 we will send you a copy of the film when it is done.
Press
Japan Times, 'Hafu' draws viewers into world of Japanese identity
Metropolis Magazine, "The Hafu Project: Exploring what it means to be Japanese"
CNNgo, 'The whole story on being 'Hafu'
Rafu Shimpo, 'The other hafu of Japan'
Mercado Latino, "Hafu-the film- Un documental que narrará la experiencia de vivir entre dos culturas"
Latin-a, "Especial- Hafu ¿Dos culturas o mitad de ambas?"
Hafu Japanese Project
Mixed Roots Kansai
Hapa Japan
Loving Day Project
Nikkei Youth Network
