UEDA, Nagano Prefecture--On a recent summer day, the signboard of the Ueda Kodomo Cinema Club was placed in front of the century-old Ueda Eigeki theater shortly before 10 a.m.

Elementary and junior high school students were seen popping up in succession to enter. 

Volunteers here are providing truant children who find it difficult to go to school with an environment they feel comfortable in through encounters with a range of films and individuals at the theater. 

A free movie is offered on two occasions each month at the Ueda Eigeki movie house by three nonprofit organizations.

The activities cater to those from younger generations since they are more apt to be isolated.

ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO VENTURE OUT

On Aug. 8, “Zannen na Ikimono Jiten the Movie” (The movie version of pathetic animals’ encyclopedia) was shown in the morning. Children were given free popcorn in the lobby before taking their seats. Many came with their parents or siblings.

But even as the film started, some students were still absorbed in painting in the cafe beside the lobby.

Kids can choose how to spend their time, as the nonprofit groups’ staff members will play with them in the cafe. Those tired of watching the movie can leave for another activity.

During the lunch break and following the afternoon showing, small children and young individuals were playing a video game on a tablet computer or talking with adults in the lobby.

Of the 76 registered Cinema Club members, 21 children turned up that day, with 15 guardians and helpers showing up as well.

Megumi Naoi, 43, secretary-general of the nonprofit organization Aidao, spoke to participants, saying “long time no see,” “you have come here for the first time” and “have fun.”

The Cinema Club is run by Aidao and the Samurai Gakuen Schola Imagine advocacy group, which helps youngsters live on their own, and an entity that shares the name of Ueda Eigeki to manage the screening, preservation and utilization of the theater.

With the goal of “taking advantage of a communal cinema in an attempt to create space to prevent isolation,” the joint program started two years ago. The activity is funded through this fiscal year with a subsidy based on dormant deposits.

While the cinema showing usually is held twice a month on Mondays, the office of another affiliated movie house nearby is open every Wednesday and Friday to the club’s registered members for interactions.

Some visitors, including a junior high school student and a woman in her 20s who is struggling to become independent, come to the office to chat and to study. They also engage in such tasks as replacing posters.

Naoi said young people’s involvement at the establishment is good for both the organizers and participants.

“I want those troubled by school affairs and post-graduation careers to learn something by sampling various lives and views via films,” she said. “Coming to the cinema, visitors can converse with others. If they can help out with menial tasks, that is of great help to us.”

When a symposium was held in February to discuss the function of movie houses as “an educational place to create a future,” a Cinema Club member, who was in her first year of junior high at the time, gave her endorsement of the program on stage.

“It is easier for me to share my problems with others, because I can meet those who do not attend school and other such people,” the girl told the audience members. “I am sure that one should come to such a facility instead of staying only at home.”

The student said she became unable to go to school after the end of the summer holiday last year, and that she used to rarely converse with others as she did not want to come out of her room.

“Watching films gets me to come into contact with a variety of stories, and I can take English lessons on Wednesdays,” she said during an interview. “I can talk to people at this place.”

The girl started performing in her school’s brass band club this past spring.

Another third-year female junior high schooler is not good at communicating with others. She goes to school but does not attend classes.

“Seniors at the Cinema Club are gentle and easier to talk with, giving me an opportunity to practice conversing,” she said. “I can relax here as well as at home. After I began coming here, I have become able to venture out more often.”

FORMING REGIONAL BONDS

The Ueda Kodomo Cinema Club cooperates with many local organizations and groups to deal with issues while listening to parents’ views at the same time.

Education boards of Nagano Prefecture and surrounding municipalities are backing the activity, so the screening schedule is distributed through these educational channels to schools each month.

Social workers at schools offer guidance on the Cinema Club for children in many cases, and participating in the club’s activity is recognized as equivalent to taking lessons in classrooms at an educational institute.

A group that offers advice to shut-ins and individuals not in education, employment or training in eastern Nagano Prefecture puts those who will soon transition back into school or society in touch with the Cinema Club.

“Participants are welcomed at the Cinema Club by local adults without emphasizing their job titles,” said Akira Miyao, a consultant at the entity. “I feel that even people who lack mental energy can spend time there without anxieties.”

Known as Hello Animal, the prefecture’s animal protection center, which also extends support to children who refuse to attend school in the nearby city of Komoro on a continual basis, has teamed with the Cinema Club.

Hello Animal refers kids who strongly want to “do something more” after spending time with its staff and animals to the Cinema Club. Their staffers frequent Ueda Eigeki, so children can reportedly feel relaxed in taking a step forward amid the familiar faces.