the secrets of saké: tradition, intuition and an artist’s...

Contacts:POVCommunications:212-989-7425,communications@pov.orgCathyFisher,cfisher@pov.org;BrianGeldin,bgeldin@pov.orgPOVPressroom:www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom

TheSecretsofSaké:Tradition,IntuitionandanArtist’sGuidingHand

POV’s‘TheBirthofSaké’FollowsMeticulousMethodofBringingtheFabledJapaneseDrinkToLife;FilmPremieresMonday,Sept.5,2016onPBS

ACo-presentationwiththeCenterforAsianAmericanMedia(CAAM)

“Arichlyimmersivedocumentary...achievesaremarkablelevelofintimacywithouteversacrificingits

reserveorrestraint.”—JustinChang,VarietyThere’salotmoretosaké—thelegendaryJapanesericewine—thanmostdrinkersrealize.Thebestbottlesembodya2,000-yeartraditionthatispainstaking,precise,incrediblylabor-intensiveandincreasinglyrare.Itscreationisacrossbetweenproducinggreatartandraising“anunrulychild.”Japanese-AmericanfilmmakerErikShiraigoesinsidetheYoshidaBrewery,a144-year-oldfamily-ownedcompanyinnorthernJapan,tocapturethetraditionalsaké-makingprocessinTheBirthofSaké,whichearnedhimaSpecialJuryMentionforBestNewDocumentaryDirectoratthe2015TribecaFilmFestival.ThefilmhasitsnationalbroadcastpremiereonthePOV(PointofView)documentaryseriesonPBSonMonday,Sept.5,2016at10p.m.(Checklocallistings.)Nowinits29thseason,POVisAmericantelevision’slongest-runningindependentdocumentaryseriesandtherecipientofa2013MacArthurFoundationAwardforCreativeandEffectiveInstitutions.Themysticalnatureofthelibationiscapturedinthefilm’sopeningstatement:“Sakémakingisalivingthing.Ifyoucompareittohumanbeingsitwouldbelikeraisingachild.”Andnotjustanychild.TheemployeeswhobringYoshida’straditionalsakétolifepamperitfrominception.Nothingislefttochance.Therearenoshortcuts.Alltold,Yoshida’semployeesspendabouthalfayearinnearlymonasticseclusioncreatingtheirworld-renownedproduct.WhilesakéisoftenexperiencedasawarmeddrinkintheWest,itsnorthernJapanesebirthplaceiscoldandforlorn.Shirai’scinematicopeningshotsofsnowandicysurf,accompaniedbysparsetraditionalmusic,introduceafilmthat,likeitssubject,isunrushed,deeplyreflectiveandrichwithinterestingsymmetries.Insidethebrewery,forexample,greatcloudsofwelcomingsteamriseabovethewhitericeusedtomakethesaké—mirroringthesnowandicejustbeyondthewindows.Asthericecoolsitistreatedwithaspecialmold,koji-kin,whichbeginsthetwo-stagefermentationprocess.Yoshidadoesnotusetheautomatedmethodsemployedbymanyofitscompetitors.Likeafinemusicalinstrument,itsproductishandmade.Makingsakéthetraditionalway,says68-year-oldbrewmasterTeruyukiYamamoto,requiresknowledgeandintuition.Thesequalitiesarepassedfromgenerationtogeneration—intheYoshidacompany’scasefromYamamototoYasuyukiYoshida,thecompany’s27-year-oldsixth-generationheir.Shirainotesthat

whileitisexpectedthattheeldestsonwilltakeoverthefamilybrewery,itisrareforanheirtobecomeanactualbrewmaster:“Yasuyukiisunusualbecausehewantstodoit.”Thefilm,twoyearsinthemaking,isthefirstin-depthexaminationoftheYoshidaoperationandararelookattheintenseandrelativelyunknown(evenwithinJapan)processoftraditionalsakémaking.Gainingaccesswasnotimmediateoreasy.Afteralongandexhaustivepermissionsprocess,thecompany’sownersallowedShiraiandproducerMasakoTsumuratoliveatthebrewery.Wakingdailyat4:00a.m.,theywerefullyimmersedandembeddedwiththeworkersandatebreakfast,lunchanddinnerwiththem.ShiraiandTsumuracapturednotonlythesubtleartofmakingsaké,butthesacrificesmadebyYoshida’semployees.Beingseparatedfromlovedonesisthehardestaspectoftheprocess,thoughtherearetimesoflevity,includingtimespentwatchingsumowrestling.“Theyreallyaren’thuman!”anemployeelaughsasheandcolleaguesenjoyatelevisedmatch.Therearealsogroupsing-alongsandtalkofgirlfriendsleftbehind.Butthisisseriousandexactingwork.Theslightestvariationintheprocess,evenaminortemperatureshift,cannegativelyalterthefinalproduct.Thecompanyisalsounderexternalpressurefromadwindlingsakémarket.ConsumptionisdowninJapanandworldwide,accordingtothefilm,whilebeer,whiskeyandothertypesofalcoholicdrinkshavemadesignificantinroads.Thischangeisreflectedinonecrucialstatistic:Intheearly20thcenturytherewere4,600sakébreweriesinJapan.Nowtherearearound1,000.YasuyukiYoshida,theyoungbrewmaster,comesacrossasahappywarrior.Afterspendingsixmonthsmakingsaké,hespendstheotherhalf-yeartravelingtheworldtopromotethefruitsofhiscompany’slabor.Hefindsadividedmarketplace.Youngerdrinkersoftenprefernewertypesofsaké,whiletraditionaldrinkerscomplainthatnewversionsare“weakandindistinct.”ThelatterarehighlypleasedwhenYoshidapresentsthemwithdaiginyo,hisbrewery’stop-of-thelinetraditionalsaké.Shiraisayshewantshisfilmtocreate“notthedesiretodrinksakéasmuchasanappreciationofthepeoplewhomakeit.Wearetalkingaboutadyingartthatshouldbekeptalive.”Hecontinues:“Weconsiderourselvesveryfortunatetohavebeenwell-placedtoexploreandsharethisancienthandmadetechnique,sorarelyusednowinourmechanizedworld.WehopethatTheBirthofSakéwillelicitsolemnandprofoundintrospectionaboutourplaceinthehistoryofmakingandconsuming,andaboutourrelationshipswithourownworkandwiththosewithwhomwework.”AbouttheFilmmaker:ErikShirai,DirectorErikShiraiisaNewYorkCityfilmmakerworkingaroundtheworldonrenowneddocumentariesandtelevisionshows.HewasacinematographerfortheEmmy®award-winningTravelChannelseriesNoReservationswithAnthonyBourdainandrecentlycompletedEyeWhatYouEat,anewwebseriesfortheScrippsNetworks.Shirai’sfoodfilmswerealsofeaturedataTEDconferenceinNewYorkin2012.In2008,Shirailaunchedhisownproductioncompany,CebuOsaniCreative,asafoundationforhiscreativeidealsandtocreatefilmsthatarecompelling,originalandvisuallycinematic.Shirai’smaingoalistoproduceone-of-a-kindcontentwithintegrityandrespect.Credits:Director,Cinematographer: ErikShiraiProducer: MasakoTsumuraExecutiveProducer: MarkKarpeles

Editors: TakeshiFukunaga,FrederickShanahanMusicComposer: KenKaizuRunningTime: 86:46POVSeriesCredits:ExecutiveProducers: JustineNagan,ChrisWhiteVicePresident,ContentStrategy: ElizaLichtAssociateProducer: NicoleTsienCoordinatingProducer: NikkiHeyman

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ProducedbyAmericanDocumentary,Inc.,POVispublictelevision’spremiershowcasefornonfictionfilms.Since1988,POVhasbeenthehomefortheworld’sboldestcontemporaryfilmmakers,celebratingintriguingpersonalstoriesthatsparkconversationandinspireaction.Alwaysaninnovator,

POVdiscoversfreshnewvoicesandcreatesinteractiveexperiencesthatshinealightonsocialissuesandelevatetheartofstorytelling.Withourdocumentarybroadcasts,originalonlineprogramminganddynamiccommunityengagementcampaigns,wearecommittedtosupportingfilmsthatcapturetheimaginationandpresentdiverseperspectives.POVfilmshavewon34Emmy®Awards,18GeorgeFosterPeabodyAwards,12AlfredI.duPont-ColumbiaUniversityAwards,threeAcademyAwards®,thefirst-everGeorgePolkDocumentaryFilmAwardandthePrixItalia.ThePOVserieshasbeenhonoredwithaSpecialNews&DocumentaryEmmyAwardforExcellenceinTelevisionDocumentaryFilmmaking,threeIDAAwardsforBestCuratedSeriesandtheNationalAssociationofLatinoIndependentProducers(NALIP)AwardforCorporateCommitmenttoDiversity.Learnmoreatwww.pbs.org/pov/.POVCommunityEngagementandEducation(www.pbs.org/pov/engage/)POV’sCommunityEngagementandEducationteamworkswitheducators,communityorganizationsandPBSstationstopresentmorethan650freescreeningseveryyear.Inaddition,wedistributefreediscussionguidesandstandards-alignedlessonplansforeachofourfilms.Withourcommunitypartners,weinspiredialoguearoundthemostimportantsocialissuesofourtime.POVDigital(www.pbs.org/pov/)Since1994,POVDigitalhasdrivennewstorytellinginitiativesandinteractiveproductionforPOV.ThedepartmentcreatedPBS’sfirstprogramwebsiteanditsfirstweb-baseddocumentary(POV’sBorders)andhaswonmajorawards,includingaWebbyAward(andsixnominations)andanOnlineNewsAssociationAward.POVDigitalcontinuestoexplorethefutureofindependentnonfictionmediathroughitsdigitalproductionsandthePOVHackathonlab,wheremediamakersandtechnologistscollaboratetoreinventstorytellingforms.@povdocsonTwitter.AmericanDocumentary,Inc.(www.amdoc.org)AmericanDocumentary,Inc.(AmDoc)isamultimediacompanydedicatedtocreating,identifyingandpresentingcontemporarystoriesthatexpressopinionsandperspectivesrarelyfeaturedinmainstreammediaoutlets.AmDocisacatalystforpublicculture,developingcollaborativestrategicengagementactivitiesaroundsociallyrelevantcontentontelevision,onlineandincommunitysettings.Theseactivitiesaredesignedtotriggeraction,fromdialogueandfeedbacktoeducationalopportunitiesandcommunityparticipation.MajorfundingforPOVisprovidedbyPBS,TheJohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundation,theJohnS.andJamesL.KnightFoundation,CorporationforPublicBroadcastingandNationalEndowmentfortheArts.AdditionalfundingcomesfromNancyBlachmanandDaviddesJardins,BerthaFoundation,WyncoteFoundation,TheFledglingFund,MargueriteCaseyFoundation,EttingerFoundation,NewYorkStateCouncilontheArts,AnnTenenbaumandThomasH.Lee,andpublictelevisionviewers.POVispresentedbyaconsortiumofpublictelevisionstations,includingKQEDSanFrancisco,WGBHBostonandTHIRTEENinassociationwithWNET.ORG.

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