In this lecture, author Dr Becca Voelcker will discuss Japan's centrality in a genre she calls 'land cinema', offering examples ranging from downtown Tokyo to rural rice paddies in Yamagata. Diving into little-known archives to explore films that resonate across geographies, Becca's research spans Japan, Mali, Colombia, the USA, Orkney, the Navajo Nation and more, to map a global history of eco-political filmmaking. Made half a century ago, land cinema films resonate with our own era of social and environmental crises, offering audiences alternatives for the future. This talk coincides with the publication of Becca's first book, Land Cinema in an Age of Extraction, by the University of California Press.

Dr Becca Voelcker is a writer and historian of art, film, and visual culture. Much of her work considers land and senses of place. She is a Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London and earned her PhD at Harvard University. In 2024 Becca was named a BBC New Generation Thinker. Her book, Land Cinema in an Age of Extraction (University of California Press, 2025) is accompanied by a BBC Radio programme and a curated film season at the Barbican (5-26 November 2025). Originally from Wales, Becca has lived and researched in Japan for extended periods since 2013 when she first moved to Tokyo as a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholar. www.beccavoelcker.com

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

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