Photographer Daido Moriyama: What the Dog Saw on the Street (1996)
Photographer Daido Moriyama: What the Dog Saw on the Street (1996)
This landmark art documentary offers an unprecedented glimpse into legendary photographer Daido Moriyama’s creative process in the 1990s. In his twenties, Gen Iwama approached Moriyama—then in his fifties and rarely appearing in the media—to propose filming a program. Although he greatly admired Moriyama’s work, Iwama had no prior connections, making this their first meeting. Moriyama, who had initially planned to decline, agreed after recognizing the sincerity of Iwama’s request. Filming took place from the fall of 1995 through the following year. Known for avoiding interviews, Moriyama unusually gave a long, candid discussion about his work, while the crew documented his dynamic street photography in Shinjuku and his hometown of Ikeda, Osaka. The resulting 45-minute documentary became the world’s first feature-length record capturing “Moriyama in motion” and also effectively served as Iwama’s directorial debut. Twenty years after its original broadcast, in 2016, the documentary was screened at NADiff a/p/a/r/t in Ebisu, Tokyo, accompanied by a talk event featuring Moriyama, Iwama, and graphic designer Isshi Suzuki. The film later inspired Iwama’s 2020 feature The Past Is Always New, The Future Is Always Nostalgic: Photographer Daido Moriyama. A digitally edited version of the 1996 TV program is included as bonus footage on the film’s Blu-ray, and remains available to watch today.
Blu-ray
https://www.amazon.co.jp/「過去はいつも新しく、未来はつねに懐かしい-写真家-森山大道」Blu-ray-森山大道/dp/B0BSGX2FW1