California Colloquium

For the past two days I have had the great honour of being a guest of the prestigious Pomona College in Claremont, California.  In addition to a breakfast meeting with film students, a class visit and an educational screening of my 2012 documentary 'In the Grey Zone' (WEBSITE), I had the honour of speaking about and presenting clips of my recent documentary 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) as part of the college's "Oldenborg Luncheon Colloquium".  The event was extremely well-attended, and the audience of students and faculty asked wonderful and challenging questions.

(photo: Cybele Kappos)

((photo: Cybele Kappos))

The Pomona College campus and buildings are gorgeous and the weather was perfect.  It was an honour to be invited here and an absolute joy to meet such engaging students and to share my work with them.  I am filled with gratitude.

"Let only the eager, thoughtful and reverent enter here."

The tree-lined streets of the campus

The college guest house where I stayed was gorgeous!

The outdoor classroom

This beautiful dining hall looks more like a church!

A beautiful courtyard on the campus

"They only are loyal to this college who departing bear their added riches in trust for mankind."

Films, Forums, Food and Fun in Yamagata

This week in pictures at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF).  Thank you for the wonderful experiences and great memories!

Festival goers attend a panel discussion about the ethics of disaster films

Simultaneous interpretation is provided for panel discussion participants

Being interviewed by YIDFF's "The Daily Bulletin"

Green tea and roasted green tea mixed ice cream with rice cakes and sweet bean paste!

Filmmakers gather nightly at the "Komian Club"

Yamagata Prefecture is famous for its agricultural products, especially its "Fuji" apples

Camera nostalgia at YIDFF!

And the world tour of 'A2-B-C' continues as I fly to California tonight to attend the United Nations Association Film Festival (LISTING).

Remembering Raindance

Although it was just last week that I had the honour of being in London at Raindance with my documentary 'A2-B-C' (LISTING HERE), it already seems like it was months ago.

I have been in Yamagata, Japan, attending the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival for only a few days now (STORY), but I am on the move again tomorrow; this time to California to attend the United Nations Association Film Festival (LISTING).

I have been reflecting on the wonderful time I had at Raindance, and as if to help with that, Raindance has just posted the Q&A that was held after the first screening of 'A2-B-C':

To accompanying this little trip down memory lane, a few photos of my time London...

Coming Home

In the middle of this tour accompanying 'A2-B-C' to film festivals all over the world (SCREENINGS), this week I am actually back home in Japan attending the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF).  The festival takes place only once every two years, and it has been my dream to someday screen one of my documentaries here.

I arrived in Yamagata yesterday straight from the UK, spending just one night in Tokyo where I picked up some more supplies and warm clothes (the first part of the tour was in Florida and Guam, and this morning in Yamagata the kerosene heaters in the inn's lobby are gentle creaking away).

'A2-B-C' was programmed in the 「ともにある」, or "Cinema With Us", strand of YIDFF, which is a program of documentary films that all deal with the March 11, 2011 disaster in some way (INFO in ENGLISH/日本語).  It is significant that this program takes place here as Yamagata Prefecture is in Tohoku, the region of Japan that was so devastated by the disaster.  Yamagata also lies beside Fukushima, and many people who fled the radioactive contamination have re-settled here.

All of the screenings in the "Cinema With Us" strand take place in the beautiful Yamagata Museum of Art, which itself is a sight to behold.

The screening took place yesterday (LISTING in ENGLISH/日本語), and because of its close proximity to Fukushima, several of the families who appear in 'A2-B-C' were able to attend.  It was an amazing experience to be able to share the film with them as they sat in an audience where some of the people attending were so-called 'nuclear refugees'.

The screening was packed, and the post-screening discussion focused on how the families in Fukushima can move forward and what prevents some of them from leaving and starting a new life somewhere else.

After the screening, the festival prepared a room for us so that the families and I could share some private time together away from the lobby where festival attendees were eager to meet and take photos of the 'A2-B-C' mothers and children.  We talked about their experience of watching the film along with the general public and what they hope to gain from upcoming screenings of the film in Japan and abroad.  As is tradition, I filmed post-screening messages, but this time not from the festival goers, but from the families themselves.

When I asked what they wanted to tell the world, one of the fathers quickly said, "Tell them that nothing has changed.  Nothing."

Let's Raindance! (Part 2)

Film festivals are, of course, first and foremost about the films.  But they are also about networking, meeting other directors and talking about films well into the night.

I am deeply grateful to Adam Torel, owner of Third Window Films (WEBSITE), who first brought my documentary to the attention of the Raindance selection committee.  'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) was screened in the Way Out East strand of the festival (INFO), along with the many other Japanese films that screened in Raindance.

Adam and the Third Window Films family showed the Japanese contingent a wonderful time in London and made the Raindance experience even more memorable for us.

With 'SAKE-BOMB' dir. Junya Sakino, Third Window Films pres. Adam Torel and 'The Kirishima Thing' dir. Daihachi Yoshida.

European Premier of Daihachi Yoshida's "The Kirishima Thing" was also the Japanese Academy Award's Best Film and Best Director award-winning director's 50th birthday!

There were even several times during the festival that I was coaxed to be in front of the camera for some of the many press interviews (and even a documentary film!) that were covering Raindance.

Attendees of the festival are a virtual who's who of the film world!  Actress Shauna MacDonald, who was holding the World Premier of her film "Tru Love" (WEBSITE) at Raindance, attended a screening of 'A2-B-C', and following she graciously gave a beautiful message of support to the mothers of Fukushima.

I was also extremely honoured to meet London fashion designer and activist Katherine Hamnett, who is deeply concerned about the children living in Fukushima and has vowed to keep fighting to help raise awareness about the issues affecting them.

It was such an amazing and humbling experience to screen at the 2013 Raindance Film Festival, and I am so very grateful as this amazing adventure continues with upcoming screenings in Japan, the US, Scotland, Poland, Ukraine, India... (INFO)

Let's Raindance! (part 1)

Having a film screen at Raindance, the largest festival of independent film in Europe (WEBSITE), is a humbling experience.  Add on to that the additional honours of 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) screening TWICE during the festival (SCHEDULE) and being one of eight documentaries nominated for the Best Documentary Award, and it is nearly over-over-whelming. 

The screenings at Raindance are held in the gorgeous Apollo Cinema in Piccadilly, London, and are well-attended by enthusiastic audiences.

Post-screening Q&A sessions were held after each screening and the audience asked wonderful and engaging questions.  Raindance filmed the Q&A following the first screening of 'A2-B-C' and will make that available on the festival page for the film (HERE) in the coming weeks.

Following all the screenings of 'A2-B-C', I have been collecting messages to the families of Fukushima from audience members all over the world.  Here at Raindance, too, I was honoured to record many heart-felt messages following the screenings.

Speechless

A wonderful week of films at the Guam International Film Festival (WEBSITE) ended last night with the Awards Ceremony.

I am so deeply honoured to have received the Guam International Film Festival "Best of Festival" award for 'A2-B-C.

There is so much more to write about this amazing festival, the films, the visiting delegates, the Muna brothers (co-founders of the festival), and of course, my gratitude for this opportunity to share the story of the mothers and children of Fukushima with the audience here in Guam.

While I was still processing all that I am feeling and thinking, I had a 3am Skype Q&A with the Camera Japan audience in Rotterdam, Holland (PHOTO HERE).  And now it is 6am, and I am at the airport on my way to London where 'A2-B-C' will screen in Raindance on Tuesday and Wednesday (SCHEDULE).

Thank you all so very much for your continued support and encouragement.  I am speechless.

Ian Lorenos

From Bikini to Fukushima

Watching any film with an audience that is so engaged, even physically (by nodding heads) and verbally (by calling out to the characters in the film) is an experience that for me defines what it means to go to the cinema.  For a filmmaker, this is an honour beyond any that one can receive.

The post-screening Q and A for 'A2-B-C' last night went brilliantly, and this is a direct reflection on the Guam International Film Festival (GIFF) itself (WEBSITE).  The Muna brothers, co-founders of GIFF, have brought together the atmosphere, programmed the films, and attracted the excited audience that some more-seasoned festivals can sometimes miss.  And Kel and Don do all of this while remaining so humble that unless you knew who they are, well, then you wouldn't know who they are.

After the screening, audience members offered messages of support to the people of Fukushima.  GIFF co-founder and filmmaker Don Muna, grabbed my camera and started to shoot, thus freeing me from filming and allowing me to interact with the people giving the messages in a way I have not been able to do before.  What a gift!

One of the most poignant message was from fellow filmmaker Jack Niedenthal, a 30-year resident of the Marshall Islands and his wife, a native of Bikini.  They spoke of the similarities in the issues affecting the people of Bikini, with its 70-year history of radioactive contamination from nuclear testing, and the people of Fukushima.  Fukushima's struggle, Jack pointed out, has only just begun.

ack Niedentha

Jack Niedenthal

Jack Niedenthal

Jack Niedenthal's film, Zori, is screening today, the last day of GIFF (INFO).