Zakka Films

佐藤真

Born in 1957. Majored in Philosophy at Tokyo University. After serving as assistant director for Innocent Sea: Minamata (Dir: Naotaka Katori) in 1981, he began living in 1988 in the mountains of Niigata with a shooting staff of seven to make Living on the River Agano (1992), which he directed. That film won numerous prizes including the Minister of Education’s New Artist Award. After that he produced, directed and edited a wide variety of films and television programs including Artists in Wonderland. His final film, Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said (2005), has been released on DVD in the US. Sato passed away in 2007.

INTERVIEW WITH MAKOTO SATO

“Documentarists of Japan #23,” Documentary Box

Total running time: Approx. 93 minutes. / color

This is a film about seven artists. It's also about seven people who are mentally handicapped. This has all the marks of a Makoto Sato film: the quirky humor and passion for everyday human life.