Takumi - A 60,000-hour story on the survival of human craft

A fascinating documentary unveils the world of the Takumi – the highest level of artisan in Japan. The visually-stunning character-driven portrait, made by Chef’s Table Director, Clay Jeter for luxury automotive brand Lexus, is due for release soon on Prime Video, through the Prime Video Direct self-publishing service.

The documentary, which premiered at the DOC NYC film festival in New York, is unique in that the medium is also the message. There will be a feature length version plus a ‘60,000’ hour cut which loops scenes of each Takumi’s essential skills of their craft they repeat over and over again to highlight the hours, days and years of practice involved.

By 2050, it’s estimated that machines will be capable of surpassing human performance in virtually every field* “We’re in the midst of exponential progress,” says Martin Ford Rise of The Robots: Technology and The Threat of a Jobless Future author. He adds that this rate of transformation hasn’t been seen before. “In the next 10 years, we’re going to see 10,000 years of progress.”

Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits? Or will this cornerstone of our culture survive and become more valuable than ever? This documentary looks at how to take the long road to excellence in a world that’s constantly striving for shortcuts.

“The concept of Takumi has physically and philosophically been at the core of the Lexus brand since it started 30 years ago.”  Said Spiros Fotinos, Head of Global Brand at Lexus International. “Our Takumi masters have over 60,000 hours (30+ working years) of experience developing their craft. To celebrate the brand’s anniversary year, we wanted to capture the essence of Takumi – and their 60,000-hour journey - on film.”