Close But Distant
(Chikakute tooi)
JAPAN / 2015 / Japanese / Color / Blu-ray / 53 min
Director, Photography, Sound: Okubo Yui
Music: Okubo Masato
Narrative Structure: Takahashi Tomoyuki
Additional Photography: Nishikawa Hisashi, Takahashi Tomoyuki, Komori Haruka
Production: Revolving Lantern
Production Company, Source: Shima Films
The town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture suffered massive damage in the March 2011 tsunami. Dirt will soon be filled in to elevate the downtown area, which was submerged by water. Through this film, the director, an Otsuchi native, seeks to preserve a piece of his hometown for his niece, who was born after the disaster and will not have her own memories of what the town looked like before its transformation.
InterviewNuclear Nation 2011–2015
(Futaba kara tooku hanarete genpatsu hinan 1475 nichi no kiroku)- JAPAN / 2015 / Japanese / Color / Blu-ray / 234 min
Director: Funahashi Atsushi
Photography: Funahashi Atsushi, Yamazaki Yutaka
Sound: Kuwaki Tomoji
Music: Sakamoto Ryuichi, Suzuki Haruyuki
Producer: Hashimoto Yoshiko
Production Company, World Sales: Documentary Japan
Forced to evacuate because of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the residents of Futaba—one of the two towns that the nuclear power station straddles—have experienced frustration, conflict, and numerous divisions. The camera trains a sober gaze on a town and its people tossed about at the mercy of the government. This version of the internationally acclaimed film combines the first two parts, previously released under the same title, with additional footage taken later.
Mom! I Have Forgotten Your Face Already
(Okaasan iikagen anata no kao wa wasurete shimaimashita)- JAPAN / 2015 / Japanese / Color, B&W / Blu-ray / 102 min
Director: Endo Michiro
Photography: Takagi Fuuta
Sound: Matsuno Izumi
Producer: Shima Toshiki
Production Company, Source: Shima Films
Endo Michiro, a musician who was the frontman of the punk band The Stalin, formed in the 1980s, spent his childhood in Fukushima. When he left after high school to go to Yamagata University in neighboring Yamagata Prefecture, he never looked back—that is, until the 2011 disaster, which prompted him to revisit his hometown. He goes to see his mother, mentioned in the film’s title, which was named after one of his most popular songs.