The program “Will their voices be heard? Treasured footage shows the Shinjuku West Exit Underground Plaza in 1969” directed by Tatsuya Sano won an award in the TV category at the 60th Galaxy Awards!
Galaxy Awards Official Website
What is the Galaxy Award? The Galaxy Awards were established in 1963 by the Japan Broadcasting Critics Association to honor excellent programs, individuals, and organizations in the hope of improving the quality of Japanese broadcasting culture. The judging committee is selected from the members of the Japan Broadcasting Critics Association. While many award systems outsource the decision on the awards to third parties, the Galaxy Awards have been consistently judged by members of the Japan Broadcasting Critics Association, maintaining the independence of the awards. Currently, the Galaxy Awards have four categories: television, radio, commercials, and press activities, and the judging period is set from April 1st to March 31st of the following year, and the annual awards are selected.
The program that won the award this time, “Will their voices be heard? Treasured footage shows the Shinjuku West Exit Underground Plaza in 1969” was first broadcast on NHK BS1 on November 26, 2022. Since then, it has been rebroadcast and has become a very popular program. This is a fascinating work that depicts the 1969 “Folk Guerrilla” movement, which put the voice of the people into song, from a modern-day perspective.
『Will their voices be heard? Treasured footage shows the Shinjuku West Exit Underground Plaza in 1969』
NHK BS1 50-minute program First broadcast date: Sat, Nov 26, 2022, 11:00 PM to 11:50 PM
“Folk Guerrilla” was a major movement in which young people opposed to the Vietnam War gathered in the underground plaza at the west exit of Shinjuku Station to sing anti-war songs. The footage obtained by the program captures the overwhelming enthusiasm of a crowd of 7,000 people, including singing and discussion. Based on this valuable footage, we interviewed people who were present at the scene at the time. How are the “voices” of young people being heard in the present day? This documentary intertwines the 1969 film with the people who appear in it in 2022.
[Starring] Haruko Oki, Shinobu Yoshioka, and others [Narration] Jiro Inoue