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Second place at TOHO Cinemas Student Film Festival

Second year School of Law
Hiroki Kadowaki

University students organized the ninth TOHO Cinemas Student Film Festival in April. Second year student Hiroki Kadowaki’s film Mirai ni tsunagu TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku (TOHO Cinemas – Connecting to the Future) won second place among 166 entries in the festival’s commercial division competition.

Kadowaki’s film, at just over one minute long, follows the “mama” of an established restaurant located in Shinjuku’s famous Golden Gai district. Kadowaki’s film shows old photographs of Golden Gai while the “mama” reflects on the district’s past. Born and raised in Takadanobaba, Kadowaki was able to make his remarkable film thanks to his family’s relationship with the mama. “I hope I was able to portray and express my love and hope for my home town,” says Kadowaki.

Kadowaki became interested in film after surprising his homeroom teacher with a video message in high school. His “mama” film is his first award-winning work made from start to finish. A member of his club, Waseda Hoso Kenkyu-kai (“Broadcast Research Society”), narrated the film. Kadowaki says he won the award thanks to all the people who worked with him, particularly the “mama.”

“After forgetting microphones and being denied by the Shinjuku Historical Museum to use their photos, I realized how naïve I was in terms of preparation and technical matters. On the other hand, I discovered how much fun it is to express one’s self through film. I want to continue refining my skills and create another film.

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Originally from Tokyo, Hiroki Kadowaki graduated from Waseda University Senior High School. He is a member of the movie group in the production division of the Waseda Hoso Kenkyu-kai student club. Kadowaki made his award-winning piece in just under a week. Kadowaki says he quickly came up with the idea of interviewing the “mama” who had been a friend of his journalist father for 30 years. The “mama” is the owner of Pony, a restaurant in Shinjuku Golden Gai. Kadowaki’s biggest challenge was gaining permission from the  Shinjuku Historical Museum to use their black and white photographs. Kadowaki negotiated with the museum countless times before obtaining permission. Kadowaki’s film is available on youtube at the following link:  https://youtu.be/KBxPpgk2Jks