General Information
Completed On: 21 Feb, 2019
Duration: 1 min 45 sec
Genres: Documentary, Experimental, Short
Language: No dialogue
Country: Poland
Submitted By: Tom Sajewski
Festival Rating
Short experimental documentary about a matsuri - a festival celebrated at Shinto shrines in Japan.
-
DirectorsTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
ProducersTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
WritersTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
Director of PhotographyTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
Color GradingTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
EditorPaweł KlepaczShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis, Summa
-
Sound DesignPaweł KlepaczShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis, Summa
-
ConformingTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
DCP MasteringTom SajewskiShinto: The Way of The Kami, Paralysis
-
Film TypeDocumentary, Experimental, Short
-
Genres
-
Runtime1 minutes 45 seconds
-
Completion Date21 Feb, 2019
-
Production BudgetUSD
-
Country of OriginPoland
-
Country of FilmingJapan
-
Film LanguageNo dialogue
-
Shooting FormatDigital HD
-
Aspect Ratio4:3
-
Film ColorBlack & White and Color
-
Student ProjectNo
-
First-time FilmmakerNo
Filmarte Short Film Festival
Portugal
Porto
01/03/2022
Portugalese Premiere
Official Selection
Mount Fuji International Film Festival
Japan
Sendai
08/26/2021
Japanese premiere
BEST JAPANESE EXPERIMENTAL FILM award
Bizarrya Short Film Festival
Portugal
Porto
10/01/2020
October 1, 2020
MasterDoc Film Festival
United States
Los Angeles, CA
04/02/2020
Official Selection
Expression Art Movie Film Festival
United States
Los Angeles, CA
12/06/2019
Official Selection
African Smartphone International Film Festival
Egypt
Lagos
12/06/2019
African Premiere
Official Selection
Magic Mystery Film Festival
United States
Los Angeles, CA
11/29/2019
Official Selection
Picasso Einstein Buddha International Film Festival
India
Rishikesh
11/20/2019
BEST CONCEPT award
Festival Kolibri
Bolivia
La Paz
10/07/2019
South America Premiere
Official Selection
MoziMotion
Netherlands
Hilversum
10/06/2019
Official Selection
Best Mini Film (15') On MovieScreenPro Film Fest
United States
Los Angeles, CA
10/04/2019
FAN award
Autumn in Voronet
Romania
Gura Humorului
09/27/2019
Official Selection
Indo-Global International Film Festival
India
Mumbai
07/27/2019
Asian Premiere
BEST THEME award
Kinomorphia Film Festival
Bulgaria
Sofia
05/15/2019
Official Selection
Dumbo Film Festival
United States
New York, NY
04/05/2019
North American premiere
Official Selection
12 Months Film Festival
Romania
Cluj-Napoca
03/31/2019
European premiere
BEST FILM nomination
Director's Biography
https://filmfreeway.com/TomSajewski
Currently, I develop “Shinto: The Way of The Kami” film universe, which will consist of several short and medium-length documentary films, and possibly feature-length documentary film in future. This collection of films will focus on describing Shinto – the Japanese philosophy of life. Each film – video art, short online film, film for festivals and film for television – is aimed at different audience.
My film, “Paralysis” (2017), has been officially selected for inclusion in film festivals about 60 times and has won 15 awards, including Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Special Mention. For “Shinto: Musashi-Itsukaichi Festival” (2019), I received Best Theme, Best Concept and Fan Award.
I am interested in technological advancements, but at the same time I am fascinated by nature and human stories. I try to tell them using modern film techniques.
Selected filmography:
• Shinto: The Way of The Kami (2021) – Documentary, medium-length
• In/Off (2019) – Documentary, short subject
• Paralysis (2017) – Fiction, Short subject
• Wooden Rifles (2017) – Documentary, short subject
Director's Statement
From an early age, I was fascinated by Japanese culture and pop-culture. During my last two visits to Japan (in 2010 and 2017), I noticed that their native philosophy, Shinto, has influence over nearly every aspect of the country, from culture to everyday life. I decided to create several films about that philosophy. A philosophy which has such an amazing influence on life in a country that interests me.
I have always liked spending time in natural environments. However, only when I started filming this project, did I realize that there may be some deeper connection between us and nature. This connection became even more apparent to me – and I believe to all of us – during these days of the pandemic, when it was so suddenly broken and people were put on lockdown.