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Japan

Johatsu – Into Thin Air

Dokumentarfilm|Limited Special Screening

  • Demachiza, Kyoto

Johatsu – Into Thin Air Johatsu – Into Thin Air © Andreas Hartmann

Johatsu – Into Thin Air Johatsu – Into Thin Air © Andreas Hartmann

Japan/Germany / 2024 / Colour / 86 mins / Japanese (with English subtitles)
Director & Producer: Andreas Hartmann / Arata Mori
Cinematography: Andreas Hartmann
Music: Jana Irmert / Mika Takehara


Every year, thousands of people vanish without a trace in Japan. Known as the Johatsu, or “the evaporated,” they abandon their lives for various reasons, a troublesome relationship, mounting debts or threats from the mafia. Some get support from so-called “night moving” companies, which help people to disappear and start a new life somewhere else. Taking an intimate look at the phenomenon of “evaporating people,” JOHATSU – INTO THIN AIR depicts the inner conflicts and attempts at reconciliation of those who have disappeared and those who have been left behind.

*To protect the privacy of the people who appear in the film, some of the images have been processed using blurring and AI technology.


Screening times
October 24 (Friday) to October 30 (Thursday) 5:40 p.m. – (ends at 7:10 p.m.)
October 31 (Friday) to November 6 (Thursday) 1:05 p.m. – (ends at 2:35 p.m.)



Related programs:
1. Public discussion with the directors: Andreas Hartmann & Arata Mori
Date: Saturday, 25 October, after the screening
Language: Japanese/English with consecutive interpretation

*Director Andreas Hartmann’s visit to Japan has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. He will join the aftertalk on Saturday the 25th online.

2. Exhibition: ‘Hitori(bocchi)’ - Solitude: Loneliness & Freedom
Date: Saturday, 18 October – Sunday, 2 November
Venue: The Terminal KYOTO


Sponsor: DMG Mori Seiki Co., Ltd.
Special thanks to: Yamaoka Memorial Foundation
Co-organizer: Demachiza

Director & Producer

  • Andreas Hartmann

    Born in 1983, Berlin-based documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and radio producer. He graduated from the Film and Television Academy „Konrad Wolf” Potsdam-Babelsberg in 2011 and has been Meisterschüler of Prof. Thomas Arslan (Art and Media) at the Berlin University of the Arts. His documentaries include “DAYS OF RAIN” (2010), “My Buddha is Punk” (2015), and “A Free Man” (2017), which was created during his residency at the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa in Kyoto in 2014. “A Free Man” received the “Busan Cinephile Award” for the Best World Documentary at the 22nd BUSAN International Film Festival and was screened at the 60th DOK Leipzig Film Festival. In 2018 he was Artist-in-residence in the Tokyo Arts and Space International Creator Residency Program. His works have been presented at international film festivals around the world, including Shanghai IFF, CPH:DOX, and Cinéma du Réel Paris.

  • Arata Mori

    Japanese film director, editor, and artist based between Berlin and Tokyo. He is a graduate of Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in London and a recipient of the Asian Cultural Council’s Individual Fellowship. His work spans documentary film, television, experimental cinema, dance-theatre, and architecture.
    In 2021, the feature film “A Million” was premiered at the 64th DOK Leipzig.
    In 2024, he co-directed “Johatsu – Into Thin Air” with German filmmaker Andreas Hartmann. The film was screened at over 30 international festivals, including at Thessaloniki IDF, CPH:DOX, Krakow, and Shanghai, and won the main award at DOK.fest Munich.
    Mori is also the co-founder of another:, a creative duo with photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu. Together, they collaborate with artists and architects such as Bjarke Ingels, Joshua Ramus and Shiota Chiharu. He also works as a director for NHK, covering the refugee crisis from conflict zones such as the Ukrainian border and Iran.

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