Pay Me Not to Come!

My 2nd feature documentary, "Jake, not finished yet" will be shown for the first time in the UK tonight at Watershed cinema in Bristol. This is significant for our team, because the film is a UK/ Japanese production and it was shot almost entirely in North Wales.

I have, of course, decided to stay here in Japan to continue my work on filming the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. But everything happens for a reason, and I have decided to turn our first UK screening into an event I am calling:

PAY ME NOT TO COME!

All of the box office proceeds from tonight's screening will be donated to Play For Japan, a charity which is collecting money for the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund. Our executive producer has also blagged free drinks for everyone after the screening, so he will be passing the hat to collect everyone's loose change as well.

The post-screening discussion will be about the Ethics of Documentary Filmmaking and will be led by Dr. Charlotte Crofts from the University of the West of England. I will be joining the discussion via Skype from my edit studio in Tokyo. Oh, did I mention it will be 3 a.m. here?!

It probably goes without saying, but I have canceled my entire trip to Europe, so I will not be attending the screening in Berlin on April 3th nor the screenings in Munich from April 3-6.

I have had many people asking if they can do something to help out, so in addition to the charities above, here is a short list of other charities doing great work in the disaster-stricken Tohoku region.

Japanese Red Cross Society
Save the Children
The Millard Brothers (three brothers who are missionaries in Japan)

Even though Japan is no longer on the front pages of the newspapers around the world, thank you for keeping all of the people affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor in the front of your minds.