Lecturer / Theme

Lecturer: Mr. Kosai Sekine (Film Director）
Theme: “The Distance between Creators and Media”

Profile

He began his career as a director of advertising films, music videos, and art videos, and his film for HONDA, “Ayton Senna 1989″ (2014), won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions in France.Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, he has been involved in various social activities, working on video productions addressing various social issues, including the refugee problem and anti-war issues.Since 2018, he has been involved in feature films. His first work depicting the inner struggles of a woman with manic depression,”Love at Least”, won the Silver Prize at the Shindo Kaneto Awards. His films include “STAY MUM ” (2024), which depicts a pseudo-family, and “FRONTLINE” (2025), which is based on the true story of a cruise ship where the new coronavirus spread.His feature-length documentaries include “TOWER OF THE SUN” (2018), which unravels Japanese society through the artist Taro Okamoto, and “DUST TO DUST” (2024), which follows fashion designer Yuima Nakazato, who is working to change the relationship between the clothing industry and discarded clothing. The film won the Human/Nature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in the United States.

Lecture Outline

Mr.Sekine reflected on the power and risks of media through his own experiences. He highlighted how advertising images can at times become “visual waste,” while also showing how editing and context have historically shaped emotions and societies. Through examples such as Leni Riefenstahl and Taro Okamoto, he pointed to the complexities of creation when intertwined with power and ideology, emphasizing the need for creators to continually question their own stance. In response, Mr.Nakazato shared how witnessing massive piles of discarded clothing in Kenya became the starting point of his creative journey, and how he has sought to use the Paris Collection as a “flag” for responsible expression. Both speakers concluded that rather than a simple division into black and white, embracing the “grey” — a stance of pursuing originality while caring for others — is essential in creative practice.

Key Points Learned

Some of the key points that were learned by the semi-finalists and last year’s winners who attended the course are listed below.

“Not being swayed by the media, but holding on to your own self.” Sekine-san referred to this as being an “anarchist,” but also as recognizing oneself as an independent medium. I thought this is especially important for creators in today’s world where social media is so widespread.”

“When I simply want to create something beautiful, I felt a fear that without sufficient knowledge, I might unintentionally contribute to something harmful in ways I never intended. It made me realize once again that I must take a deeper interest in politics, history, and society, and engage with them more seriously.”

“I learned that, as designers, we carry a great deal of responsibility. We must decide consciously and thoughtfully how we use media for communication. In fashion design, as a medium or channel, we can consider not only images and videos but also our own creations and how we present them. It became even clearer to me that we, as designers, must pay very close attention to the messages we want to convey.”

“I once again resonated with the idea of creating dialogue through works. I myself have unconsciously been creating with the hope that dialogue would emerge from my work, but I could not clearly put that reason into words. After hearing this talk, I felt that by approaching creation with the awareness that I myself am a medium, the meaning of that desire has become clearer.”

“It made me think about how fashion can fall into the same traps of manipulation, greenwashing, and “visual trash” that the lecturer talked about.”

Many participants shared that Sekine’s lecture left a deep impression, particularly the phrase “design is an anaesthetic”and the realization that images and context can strongly shape human perception.

It also became a moment to reaffirm the importance, in today’s world of ubiquitous social media, of creators recognizing themselves as independent media, and expressing with conviction rather than being swept along.

Moreover, some noted that while struggling within the currents of advertising and consumer society, they discovered that it is precisely from within that new values can be proposed.

This lecture thus served as a profound opportunity to reconsider one’s responsibility and position as a creator, and to reflect on how creative work can foster dialogue with society.