The Society for East Asian Anthropology presents the biennial David Plath Media Award to the best work (film, video, audio, and/or multimedia/interactive media, such as websites) on any aspect of East Asian anthropology and/or East Asian anthropology’s contribution to the broader field. The next David Plath Media Prize will be awarded in 2022 for material produced in 2020 or 2021. Submissions are welcome from any part of the world.
The biennial prize of $300 is named for David Plath, renowned Japan-scholar and producer of award-winning documentary films. Eligible submissions should contribute to the anthropology of East Asia and may take a diverse range of forms including research footage and documentation that adds to the historical and/or ethnographic record, or is used for further analysis (such as linguistics, dance, and art); ethnographic media that contributes to theoretical debate and development; media designed to enhance teaching; and media produced for television broadcasting and other forms of mass communication. Nominations for the prize may be made by producers/authors, distributors, or interested third parties.
Past David Plath Media Award Recipients:
2020: Bora Lee-Kil’s film Untold (기억의 전쟁)
2018: Aaron Litvin and Ana Paula Kojima Hirano’s film One Day We Arrived
2016: Aya Domenig’s film The Day the Sun Fell
2014: Dipesh Karel and Asami Saito’s film Playing with Nan
2013: Jenny Chio’s film Peasant Family Happiness
2011: Karen Nakamura’s film A Japanese Funeral and Mark Patrick McGuire and Jean-Marc Abela’s film Shugendo Now
Submission Instructions:
[updates for the 2022 competition will be forthcoming but may well include most of the prior instructions from 2020, quoted below] “deadline for submissions is May 1, 2020. The winner will be notified in the fall. All submissions must be accompanied by an informational coversheet that includes:
- applicant’s name
- institutional affiliation
- contact information
- title of work
- date work produced/published
- length of work (for film, podcast, etc.)
- short 1-2 paragraph abstract describing the work
- link to media (ex. Vimeo, Youtube — if a password is required, please be sure is active through September 2020 to allow the award committee time to review the submission.)
The coversheet and abstract may be sent as a separate Word document or in the body of an email to ….
[chair of committee]
Please contact [chair] with any questions.”