Two short documentary films from the Yamagata Renaissance Project just released on our official YouTube, Yamagata City of Film. Yamagata Renaissance Project aims to introduce culture of Yamagata through filmmaking to rediscover the charm and support local film creators with providing opportunities to shoot film. This project produces a few short documentary films every year focusing on local culture and tradition. Besides, these two films won the awards in the Video Contest at the ‘Tohoku Film Festival 2025’ hosted by Tohoku Film Association. “The writers in Dewa” (director: Koichi SATO/2025) won the Grand Prize in the Regional Promotion Content Category, and “Sunny spot – Story of a beloved local supermarket” (director: Hiroaki NAGAOKA/2025) got the Excellence Award in the same category.
These two films were screened at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025.
You can watch them on following site;
The writers in Dewa (director: Koichi SATO/22min/2025)
Yamagata city has a terroir to nurture “literature.”
Yamagata city, which has turned out many famous writers. As one of the reasons attracted attention for this is the “Yamagata Novelist and Writer’s Course” held by a private initiative. Since started in 1997, the course is still full of enthusiasm with people who want to experience the joy of ‘writing’, as well as those who aspire to make their debut as writers.
Why has such course taken root in Yamagata city and why has it continued to produce bearers of literature? This documentary explores these questions through interviews with the people involved in the course, while also showing Yamagata city’s literature-related activities.
Sunny spot – Story of a beloved local supermarket (director: Hiroaki NAGAOKA/11min/2025)
The miraculous story of “Gesoten”
“Endo” – small supermarket is located in Naga-machi, Yamagata city. “Gesoten,”(Deep Fried Squid Legs) Yamagata’s soul food, has become a hot topic, attracting customers not only from the local area but also from outside the prefecture and even from overseas. “Gesoten” is not the only reason why so many people love there. Local elderly women have well-side meetings, local summer festivals are held, and a kids’ cafeteria is open. It has truly become a “sunny spot” in the community.
What do you see in this scene where people from all walks of life gather at a small supermarket in town? This documentary focuses on the “local treasure” nurtured by the soul food “Gesoten”.