Jaime Pacena II on his film Kono Basho and telling the story of Rikuzentakata
words by Spike Acosta
In 2024 artist and filmmaker Jaime Pacena II debuted his film Kono Basho, a Philippine-Japan co-produced film set in Rikuzentakata, a city devastated by the great tsunami of 2011. The film was met with resounding critical acclaim and represents the culminating piece of his artistic journey with Japan.
We sat down with Jaime to talk about the beginnings of his journey, his experiences with the city of Rikuzentakata, and the serendipitous role of JFM in the making of the film.
Fourteen Years in the Making
“This was the first time I was immersed in Japanese culture,” Jaime recounts his first residency program in Japan in 2010, a three-month artist immersion in Aomori through the JENESYS Programme for Creators 2010. The JENESYS Programme, which stands for Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youth, is a student and youth exchange project designed to strengthen solidarity between East Asia and Southeast Asia through the promotion of mutual understanding among younger generations in the region. “It was so special because the Japanese artists I was with had their entire family with them. At some point I was taking care of their kids, and I was always with them everywhere they went.” During this residency Jaime spent his time not just learning artistic practice, but also taking in the daily lives of the Japanese artists. Despite the relatively long exposure and the immediate fondness for the culture, the thought of his final product still eluded him. “I was really fascinated by Japanese culture, but at that time it did not resonate with me as an artist yet, I did not know what to do with it in terms of output.” It was not all for nothing though. The experience served as the beginning of his personal repository of memories, stories, observations, and impressions that will later serve as the tinder for his work.
His next visit to Japan saw him experience a monumentally changed landscape. “The great tsunami of Japan hit in 2011. Five months after, I was invited to be part of a study tour under the Asahi Art Festival. I was invited by Teiko Hinuma¹, my mentor from my first program in Aomori in 2010.” The study tour for artists consisted of trips to trips to Fukushima, Sendai, Minamisanriku, and other places hit by the tsunami. Despite the destruction, Jaime saw the determination of the people to rise from the ruins of their city. “It was only five months after it hit so I witnessed first-hand how the displaced residents responded to the situation. One thing I couldn’t forget is that during this one night we visited a temporary residence, there was this lone cellist who started playing outside. Slowly, one-by-one, people came out of their shelters and watched the performance together. That was a really moving moment for me.”
The aftermath of the great tsunami in Fukushima, and the resiliency shown by those affected
Fast forward to 2013, it was Teiko Hinuma again who invited Jaime to Japan, this time to the tsunami hit city of Rikuzentakata. “During that time, she was able to create a program together with the local business owners in Rikuzentakata. She said that maybe art can do something there,” Jaime continues. “She said to just immerse ourselves first, but in my head, I was thinking ‘how can you consume art amidst this devastation?’ I couldn’t make something concrete. So, during that time I focused on recording moments through video and engaging with the people.”
He then returned to Rikuzentakata in 2016, 2019, and 2023. According to Jaime, the goal of Teiko was for the invited artists to bear witness to the city reforming throughout the years. “It’s not just making connections with the people but understanding the changes within the city.” There he saw the mercurial nature of the lives of the people of Rikuzentakata, where their living condition was in a constant state of flux, being forced out of their homes into temporary residences, to moving back again to a city reformed, the same place but now different.
This marked the beginning of Jaime’s grapple with the concept of “displacement,” the departure from one’s home due to forceful circumstances unforeseen, a theme central to Kono Basho. “When I started writing the script in 2019, it was all about displacement, being pushed from your comfort zone to a different situation, just like what happened with the people affected by the tsunami.”
Memories of the City
“Rikuzentakata is a representative of a lot of different cities that were devastated during that time. Although Rikuzentakata is special because of all the people I’ve met.” Jaime said when asked about the setting of the film. “Yes, we could have done it in a different place, but there are no other places for me. My memories, my experiences are all here. There are many places, but this is my place.”
“There are always moments when people tell you very personal stories about their city, about their life.” Through his interaction with the people of Rikuzentakata Jaime developed a sense of how the place was beyond how it currently was. “I met somebody who had a whole collection of personal home-videos. I asked her if I could watch the home-videos to see how Rikuzentakata was before.” Jaime described the surreal experience seeing the city from a different perspective. “I saw a lot of footage about the city itself, parades, families eating out in the summer. Some scenes like the jankenpon scene, I used for the film. I witnessed a Rikuzentakata before the devastation and that made it more special to me.”
Another moment during one of his visits made him see the remnants of the past still etched in the present, an echo of the past still resonating in the everyday. “In 2016 we had the opportunity to drive around an area that was previously closed. Now that they reconstructed the roads, it allowed us to see more of the city. While driving we realized that car’s GPS still retained information from before the tsunami. It was at night, so it felt a bit unnerving seeing in the GPS that there should have been a 7-11 at the corner but when you look out there’s just empty space. The maps told us to go right but the roads have changed. It made me think of the life of the city that was there before,” the memories of the city still reverberating in time.
Jaime also recalls a moment during his previous stay, when a Japanese fisherman approached his photographer companion while they were documenting the city’s port area. Their initial thought was that the fisherman was upset about something, and they could not understand what he was saying. When their interpreter finally arrived and explained why the artists were there, they found out what the fisherman was really trying to say. The fisherman went away and came back with a gift of wakame (Japanese seaweed) and presented it to them together with a poignant request. “What did he say?” they asked the interpreter. “He said: Please tell our stories to your country.”
“These are the things that resonated with me. What pulled me into the city. It’s not just the visual. It’s really about the story, these people. I think it resonated through the film as well, as memories, as an archive.”
The fisherman who gave the wakame
The Beginning of the Beginning
It was once again Jaime’s mentor Teiko Hinuma who guided him on his next step, and as serendipity would allow it, a familiar organization was there to help him once again. “I asked Teiko ‘I want to make a film can you help me? I don’t know anyone connected to filmmaking in Japan.’ She said, ‘Ok let’s go and try our luck at the Tokyo International Film Festival,’ and because it was the Japan Foundation who hosted the dinner, we got in.” The Japan Foundation has been a supporter of Jaime’s endeavors both as an artist and an educator since 2010, providing a platform for cultural exchange for him and his students.
It was at that Japan Foundation hosted event that he would meet filmmakers Dan Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone, who would later serve as Kono Basho’s producers, and the former its cinematographer. “I approached Dan and told him I was in Japan to write a script, and after if it would be alright if I could pitch it to him. That started everything. I still have the photo that we took that night.”
The Japan Foundation also helped in familiarizing Jaime’s whole team with Rikuzentaka through the JFM Arts & Culture Grant. Through the grant, they were able to go see the filming locations and lay the foundation for their shoot. “Until 2023 it was just a script for them, but the grant helped me introduce the place to the team and make them understand where I’m coming from. In return, the team made me understand the things needed to be done for the film.”
“It was also the Japan Foundation who sent me to Aomori the first time in 2010,” Jaime continues. “It was Ben Suzuki who was the director, and I won’t forget what he first asked me, and I actually included this in my original script. He asked ‘What do you know about Japan? Back then I said I only knew three things: Monster Hunter, sushi, and Astro Boy. I think if he asks me now I can say more.”
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Editor’s Note:
¹Teiko Hinuma is a curator and the Program Director of the Rikuzentakata Artist-in-Residence program. She is also currently serving as an Associate Professor at Joshibi University of Art and Design.
At the time of writing, Kono Basho has already won many awards including a best director win for Jaime Pacena II at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The film also recently travelled to Paris for the Vesoul Asian Film Festival collecting a best film nomination and winning the Prix du Jury Lycéen award. It will make its way to Japan in early 2025 as part of the official selection of the Osaka Asian Film Festival. It’s the goal of Jaime and his team to screen the film in the city of Rikuzentakata.
