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この映画は映像がない、音だけの映画です。

コロナ禍に生まれた新たな芸能/映画の形。

それは岡山県高梁市の日本語教室に集まったメンバーたちの物語。

日本語教室には技能実習生を中心に多様な背景をもった人たちが集まっています。

日本語教室の先生と生徒らは、コロナ禍で失われつつあった豊かな生活を取り戻すために共にひとつの歌をつくりはじめました。

属性を越えた、"いきもの"としての出会い。

これは、そのささやかな出会いの航路を記録した音だけのドキュメンタリーです。

山間部の小さな町にも訪れているグローバル化の波。

そして、その境界で揺らぐ小さなくぼみ。

そこから生まれる営み、対話、風景、響き。

この映画は、映像が無いが故に、上映される空間、音質や音量、集まる人、観る人の記憶や状況で、観るたびに変化していきます。

決して同じ顔を見せることはありません。

観る者自身がまぶたの裏に映画を流し、上映される場が映画を創造していきます。

そして、上映での出会いを重ね新たな対話が生まれていくことで、この映画は初めて動き出します。

舞台となった高梁市は、人口あたりの外国人の割合が岡山県内で最も多く、人口約26,000人の内、約3.4％（939人）が外国籍の住民になります。（2023年1月時点）

最近はベトナムやインドネシアなどから技能実習生として移住してくる住民が増えています。実習生の多くは、寮などで共同生活をしながら高梁市内の工場などで働いています。外国人技能実習制度は日本の企業で技能を身に付けた外国人が母国の発展に寄与することを目標とされており、外国人を技能実習生として受け入れることにより、慢性的な人手不足の解消にも役立つと考える企業が増えています。その一方で、技能実習生の待遇や悪質な環境等が問題視されるケースが数多く報告されています。

本作品の監督であるハブヒロシは、高梁市に住む多くの技能実習生や海外出身の住民らが、日本語の授業を受けたり、地元の人々と交流したり、他の外国人と知り合う機会が無い状況を知り、 2020年6月から高梁市内の図書館で日本語教室を始めました。

日本語教室には多様な背景をもった人たちが集まっていますが、本作品では、日本語教室に参加していた技能実習生のベトナム人とミャンマー人、ALT（外国語指導助手）のアメリカ人とCIR（国際交流員）だったフランス人らが、アフリカやインドネシアの楽器を演奏する岡山の音楽家らと一緒に一つの歌を生み出す過程が描かれています。

映画の撮影は、2021年1月に始まり５カ月の間、毎週日曜日に行われました。その後、追加のレコーディングやミキシング、編集などを行いながら、同時並行で各地での上映会も開かれ、最終的に2022年２月に完成を迎えました。

This film is a unique sound-only documentary and labor of love that captures the creative process used by HABU Hiroshi to give voice to the multi-layered story of immigrants working in Okayama Prefecture in Western Japan.

The director, also an artist and community activist, saw the need to help them better adjust to, and enjoy their lives in rural Takahashi City. As most were "technical intern trainees," who work in nearby factories, few had the chance to take classes, mix with locals or even get to know fellow foreigners who worked for other companies. So, he started the bi-monthly classes on Sunday mornings at the local library beginning in June 2020.

The film, which he chose to produce without any visuals, takes a deep dive into the many complex questions that arise as they carve out lives in the picturesque countryside, not far from neighboring Hiroshima. With no images to distract audiences, Habu believes movie goers can better step into the their lives and experience the highs and lows.

The center piece is the group song that is written and composed by the participants who have varying degrees of fluency in the language. The end-product is a heart-warming song sung in Vietnamese, English and Japanese that captures the joy, sadness, fun, and frustrations of living abroad. In Japanese this is known as "Ki Do Ai Raku (喜怒哀楽)."

The foreign film subjects are trainees from Vietnam and Myanmar, as well as an American Assistant Language Teacher and a French woman who was a Coordinator for International Relations at Takahashi City. They join forces with locals and other Japanese transplants who have expertise in various African, Indonesian, and other instruments to mix in new rhythms and break new ground.

The process of song writing builds organically throughout the course and is interwoven with other snippets of life. Those reflections encompass a range of feelings from the delight of discovering new vistas along the Takahashi River and the joy of sharing a lively Vietnamese meal to the misery of the Myanmarese who helplessly witness a coup in their country from afar.

The making of the film and the classes themselves also collided with the global COVID-19 pandemic that gripped the world. The effort brought the participants together (even remotely for a while) to give them a sense of normalcy during a time of heightened fear and isolation.

Known as a "Little Kyoto," Takahashi has a rich and proud history. It boasts the highest mountain castle in Japan and is often pictured in a "sea of clouds." Tourists are also drawn to its samurai district, as well as to temples, shrines, and even the rare Meiji-era Christian church.

The city also stands out for having Okayama Prefecture's largest proportion of foreigners per population. According to the latest data, 939 of them represent 3.4 percent of the nearly 26,000 residents who call Takahashi home.

Recently the number of trainees in the city—many of whom hail from Vietnam and Indonesia—has been growing. Company buses can be seen transporting morning shift workers while other groups return to their company dorms by bicycle in the dark. Increasingly the trainees are being brought in under a system that allows them to work for several years to help combat the chronic labor shortages Japan faces as its population continues to age and drop to historic lows.

They are supposed to take the skills back to improve the development of their home countries. However, the system has sometimes raised concerns about their treatment and the conditions under which they work for the Japanese businesses that hire them.

Recording for the film, which meant gathering hundreds of hours of voices, vocals, and other daily sounds, began in January 2021 and ended in May 2021. This was followed by additional recording, mixing, editing, and sound design.

Finally, the film was completed in February 2022, with screenings held throughout Japan. The Takahashi Library, where the lessons took place, was the first venue to kick off the preliminary screening on November 28, 2021.

As the world faces many crises and the story of immigrants, migrants, and refugees continues to occupy front page news, it is hoped audiences can gain new insights and a deeper understanding about this diverse group that lives and works in rural Japan.