On Mar. 22, Tuesday, a screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” was held at the Sapporo City University, COC Campus (Makomaru, Sapporo-shi). It was the last of the screenings organized by CR, but as many as 45 people attended the event, making it a success. After the screening, the student directors and participants exchanged comments. Questions about how the interviews were conducted, how the production was carried out and many others were asked.
Along with the screening, an artwork by the CR Okuma-cho Team was exhibited. It is an artwork of photos and text of a family living in Iwaki-shi that the team followed and took records of after the catastrophic earthquake. The Okuma-cho Team students also stayed throughout the event and, before and after the screening, met and exchanged comments with the many people who came to the screening.
We would like to sincerely thank all the visitors and people at Sapporo City University! (Iida)
Category Archives: FUKUSHIMA VOICE
On Mar. 11, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” on YouTube for free viewing.
The full version of the documentary movie, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)”, will be on YouTube for free viewing on Mar. 11, Friday, 5 years after the catastrophic earthquake. At the same time, “iwaki 2016.2.5”, a video in which, this February, the student directors revisited and interviewed the people who had appeared in the original movie will also be shown.
Along with the upload, the website of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” has been renewed, too. Here, as well as being able to view the movie, comments by the student directors who shot the movie, the story of the movie, explanation of the words mentioned in the movie are shown. The website is available in English as well.
We would like as many people as possible to see the movie. Please pass on the information to anyone who has not yet seen the movie. Thank you in advance!
(Iida)
＞“Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” WEB
Revisiting Iwaki-shi, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)”, for the interview video in progress!
A screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” with German subtitles will be held on March 11 at the Japan Foundation in Cologne, Germany. The students at the University of Bonn, who volunteered to do the German subtitles, will also be there.
In time for the screening, the student directors are currently back in Iwaki-shi, 5 years after the earthquake and 2 and 1/2 years after shooting the movie, to revisit and create an interview video of the people who had appeared in the movie. The video image, when completed, will be shown at the Cologne screening and be posted on the Web as well.
We would like to thank everyone, who agreed to take part in the video, for their warm reception despite our sudden request for the interviews.
(Iida)
Screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” at the Ibaraki Prefecture Earthquake Disaster Reconstruction Symposium & An Exhibit by the Okuma-cho Team.
On Jan. 14, Thursday, a screening of the movie, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” and an exhibit of an artwork printed on large canvas sheets by the Okuma-cho Team were carried out at the Ibaraki Prefecture Earthquake Disaster Reconstruction Symposium held at Ibaraki Sougou Fukushi Kaikan.
The symposium is administered by the Mega Quake Risk Management project, led by the College of Policy and Planning Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, and it is being held in various locations, mainly in Fukushima and Ibaraki, to promote effective approaches towards mitigating risks and disasters associated with large earthquakes. It is already the third time that “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” has been shown at the symposium.
After the screening, a talk show session with the student directors and staff members was held. They spoke about their thoughts and feelings now, 5 years after the earthquake and 2 years since the movie was shot, about their recent visit to the temporary housing, and how they feel about the future of the movie.
In the lobby of the venue, the Okuma team displayed a large printed artwork of photos and words of a family that the team followed and took records of after the catastrophic earthquake.
The contrast between the academic analysis of the symposium and the more personal depictions by the CR teams seemed to inspire an opportunity to re-examine the whole catastrophe from many different angles. (Iida)
Screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)”, KKH x Musashino Art University x Student Directors
On Nov. 14, Saturday, a screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” was held in Shinjuku.
The screening was held in time with the visit by the instructors and students of Sweden’s Royal Institute of Art (KKH), which is an overseas partner university of Tsukuba University, and with the participation of the students from the Department of Imaging Arts at the Musashino Art University. Hirano-san, a graduate student of Tsukuba University, who had been studying at KKH until last September, organized the event. Three student directors of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” also took part in the screening and a Q&A session was held after the screening. The students from Sweden asked many questions about the current situation, particularly that of Iwaki city and the evacuees, the relationship between the student directors and the people who appeared in the movie. Almost two years have passed since the completion of the movie, and since the conditions in the disaster-stricken areas are changing every hour (Two and a half years since the devastating earthquake.), the role and significance of the movie may be changing as well. Perhaps it is time for a discussion, primarily with the student directors and the production side, about some aspects of the project. (Iida)
German Subtitles for “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” in the works
Currently at the University of Bonn, German subtitles for “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” is being prepared by volunteer students. The translation is being carried out by 4 students majoring in Japanese studies, Alexander Tokarev, Katja Engelhardt, Yukiko Kuwayama and Caroline Block. The first stage of the translation has been done and handed over to the supervisor. The goal is almost there! Many thank-yous to Tamura Sensei, who is instructing the students, and to all the students!
When the work is completed, CR and the University of Tsukuba European Office in Bonn will go ahead with the preparations to hold screenings in Germany. (Iida)
“Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” shown at the University of Bonn
On July 1, Wednesday, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” (With English subtitles) was shown at the University of Bonn in Germany, which is an affiliated university of Tsukuba University.
The screening was made possible by a voluntary request from a student, who had seen the movie at the screening event at the university this February and wished to show it to other students as well. On the day, a student who had studied at Tsukuba University introduced and spoke about the university, and a discussion session was carried out after the showing of the movie. At the discussion, a student, who is planning to study in Japan, brought up his concerns about radioactive contamination of food, and questions about the degree of interest in the nuclear power station in Fukushima within Japan were raised. There was also a mentioning of the fact that the nuclear power station accident in Japan has been totally forgotten in Germany.
I heard that it was an unusually hot day in Bonn, but about 20 people took part. Many sincere thanks to the students who organized the screening, the people who came to the screening, and to all the people who were involved in following through with the event. (Iida)
“Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” shown at the University of Bonn, Germany.
On Feb. 20, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” was shown at the University of Bonn in Germany. The students and teachers at the University of Bonn and local people came to see the movie. Three student directors, Okazaki, Sasaki and Santo traveled to Germany and held a discussion style talk event with the viewers after the showing.
Each of the student directors spoke about their thoughts on Japan after the catastrophic earthquake, something that they are able to feel only because they shot the movie. The screening was carried out with English subtitles and the discussion was conducted in both German and Japanese. The exchanges were so lively that there was not enough time. A comment from the floor included that they were glad to see a side of the situation in Japan, which they were unable to see through the media. As another opportunity to show the movie abroad was offered, we were able to sense signs that the movie is being conveyed and spreading.
Thank you very much to everyone at the University of Bonn who organized the screening of the movie, to everyone who gave us support, and to all the people in Germany who came to see the movie!
(Sasaki, 3rd Year at School of Art & Design)
“Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” shown at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
On Mar. 8, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE) x City of Creativity” was held at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture. The screenings were carried out twice a day (with Japanese subtitles), in the morning and in the afternoon, and after the screening, “Fukushima-na! (Green Vegetables)”, a collaborative event with the farmers of Iwaki, who were in the movie, was held. Many people from in and out of Kanazawa city came to the venue, and the movie was seen by 36 people in the morning and 34 people in the afternoon.
After the screenings, the student directors, Chiba, Kinusa Suzuki and Tachibana, each spoke about what was on their minds. I spoke about my thoughts in planning the screening in Kanazawa and asked the viewers to feel the creativity of the people who live in the disaster-stricken areas.
At the “Fukushima-na! (Green Vegetables)” event after the screenings, a tasting party of foods made in collaboration with the farmers of Iwaki, who appeared in the movie, was held. The visitors, while they enjoyed tasting the foods, also actively engaged in conversation with the student directors and exchanged views and comments. Of the things the visitors mentioned, the following left an impression, “Watching the smiles and positive words of the people of Iwaki who appeared in the interviews, in fact, gave me courage. I wish you the best and keep working hard so that the catastrophic earthquake won’t fade into oblivion”. It was 4 years ago today that the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. I would like us all to continue our efforts to show the movie, “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)”, in many parts of the country and around the world.
I would like to thank everyone at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art who agreed to co-host the screening, the members of the local staff who helped us, and the people of Ishikawa prefecture who came to the screening!
(Tachibana, 3rd Year at School of Art & Design)
Screening of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” held in Inadani, Nagano Prefecture
On Feb. 14 (Sat), a screening event of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE)” was held at the Iijima Cultural Center in Kamiina-gun, Nagano prefecture. Since last November, a series of screenings had been held in Matsumoto and various regions of Inadani, and today was the 12th and last place of showing. The student directors Tachibana and Chiba and staff member Iida went to the venue and held a talk session after the screening as well as a brief group discussion and question and answer session with the audience. There was a moment in which the student directors’ determination to continue spreading this movie was questioned and the students spoke each in their own words about how they felt. We would like to extend our gratitude to Yomogida-san who organized the screening, all the volunteers, and to the people of Inadani who came to the screening. Thank you very much. (Iida)
