Slippery Slopes Lined by Isotopes

The Five Flavours Film Festival (WEBSITE) takes advantage of the many beautiful cinemas and gallery spaces in Warsaw, putting an emphasis both on film and on creating spaces and opportunities for the audience to interact with the visiting film directors and with each other to talk about film.

One such venue was Południk Zero café (WEBSITE) and gallery space, which has a wonderful atmosphere to just sit, relax and *try* to catch up on some e-mails.

Last night, ‘A2-B-C’ was screened to a standing room only crowd at Południk Zero (INFO), and the at-home atmosphere created a great vibe in the room.  The screening began with a talk about the current situation in Fukushima delivered by Yasuhiro Igarashi, the author of articles on nuclear energy in Japan and a screening of the short film "Encroaching Nuclear Power Plant (Japan, 2013) about Japan's export of nuclear technology to Vietnam.

The post-screening Q&A, interpreted and led by the Fukushima strand coordinator Ewa Dryjańska, was hands-down the most lively and passionate debate that I have ever witnessed following a screening of 'A2-B-C'.  Half of those in attendance seemingly held anti-nuclear views and the other half apparently had come directly from the nuclear commission here in Poland, although they insisted they were there in a personal, not professional, capacity.  The hour-long debate that ensued seemed clearly based on one very important issue: Japan's desire to export nuclear technology to Poland (and other countries) and some Polish politicians' views that building nuclear power plants is a great way to boost the economy.  Haven't we heard that argument somewhere before?

Following the Q&A, as is tradition, I offered those in attendance an opportunity to share words of support with the families in Fukushima, and I was extremely honoured to film many heart-felt messages.

Later, I was interviewed by an independence journalist in Warsaw who seemed to hint at recent pressure to tone-down his stories that criticize pro-nuclear policy in Poland.  If that is in fact happening, Poland would seem to be at the top of some slippery slopes lined by isotopes.

I am now at the airport on my way to the Ukraine...

Psst! Wanna buy a nuke?

Japan is currently trying to sell it's nuclear technology to Poland to build its first reactor.  I wonder what the audience reaction will be to tomorrow's screening of 'A2-B-C' (INFO) in Warsaw.

Upon arriving last night, I was met at the airport by Five Flavours Film Festival (WEBSITE) volunteers Ewa and Igarashi-san (photographed below with me holding the Safecast bGeigie).

 

Ewa and her husband are graciously allowing me to do a home-stay with them, and they live in a gorgeous home in the countryside outside of Warsaw.  The bedtime snack that Ewa provided when we got home: freshly baked dark bread, walnuts from the neighbour's tree and homemade plum jam.  Delicious!

Today we spent the day in Warsaw, and the posters for Five Flavours are all over the city.  The festival staff are so kind and welcoming, and Luna, the main cinema where the festival is being held, is beautiful.  Tonight's dinner was a traditional Polish meal of pierogi filled with cabbage, savory crepes with cheese, pickled vegetables and a dessert of sweet rice with cinnamon-spiced apples, all generously provided by one of the festival sponsors.

After dinner, we visited the old part of Warsaw with its majestic buildings steeped in history.  We were treated to an amazing sunset as we passed through the centre, then darted down a centries-old alley where we found a pub that served wonderful Polish beer fresh from the barrel, and so we just had to try some.

To be continued...

Playing it safe

I am at Narita airport about to leave for screenings of my film 'A2-B-C' in Poland and the Ukraine (INFO).  In addition to attending the festivals and working to raise awareness about the situation of the children in Fukushima, I will also be collecting radiation data with the help of my friends at Safecast (WEBSITE).

Safecast, recipient of the 2013 Good Design Award (congratulations!) makes affordable and reliable Geiger counters and, most importantly, is providing reliable and accurate data regarding radiation levels.  Want to know more?  Check out this AWESOME documentary by my good friend and fellow filmmaker Uchujin (WEBSITE):

Pieter Franken (pictured below) was kind enough to lend me one of his babies and give me a crash course in how to use it.  This is going to be a baptism by fire as I use it to measure radiation levels, upload the radiation readings and GPS data, and work with an interactive app of world-wide Safecast data.  But these guys didn't receive the Good Design Award for nothing: they had technology-illiterate people like me in mind when they designed it, so this should be cake.  I hope.

I'll be taking radiation readings as I travel to Poland and the Ukraine and will be uploading my findings as I do.  But first things first: outside on the observation deck of Narita airport...

On the Road Again

Following the first leg of the World Tour of my documentary 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE), I have been back home in Japan for only a few days (just enough time to do some laundry and pick up some supplies), but I am already leaving again for the next leg of the tour.  

Tomorrow I am leaving for Poland, and then later in the week I will be in the Ukraine.  There are some very special things planned for when I am in the Ukraine, and I am looking forward to sharing those with you next week.

Then when I return from overseas in two weeks, the domestic promotional tour of 'A2-B-C' (peppered with a few more short trips abroad) will begin (unofficial schedule BELOW), starting with a very special announcement regarding the film that will be made at the Fukushima Premier of the film on November 28th.

I continue to be over-whelmed at the reception the film is receiving and am so honoured that the film is part of the effort to raise awareness about the issues affecting the children of Fukushima.  Thank you all so very much for your continued support and encouragement (and patience while my correspondence is slower than usual as I travel).

'A2-B-C' UNOFFICIAL Upcoming Screening Schedule (dates/ times subject to change)

November 6th at 18:40  Five Flavours Film Festival (Warsaw, Poland)
１１月６日　ファイブ・フレーバー映画祭、ポーランド
http://www.piecsmakow.pl/film.do?lang=en&id=43

November 9th at 19:00  STEPS International Human Rights Film Festival (Kharkov, Ukraine)
１１月９　STEPS人権映画祭、ウクライナ
 http://www.cetalife.com.ua/eng/program2013.htm

November 13th  PIA Film Festival (Nagoya, Japan)
１１月１３日　PIA映画祭、名古屋
http://pff.jp/35th/lineup/unknown01.html

November 20th-25th  Raindance Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
１１月２０日—２５日　レーンダンスベルリン、ドイツ
http://www.raindance.org/berlin/

November 28th at 18:30  private screening at Forum Fukushima (Fukushima City, Japan)
１１月２８日　１８時３０分　フォーラム福島、福島市

November 29th at 10:30 and 19:00   public screening at Media Tech (Sendai, Japan)
１１月２９日　１０時３０分、１９時　せんだいメデイアテーク、仙台

November 30- December 3  Nuclear Film Festival (various cities, Taiwan)
１１月３０—１２月３日　ヌークリア映画祭、台湾

December 14th  Hiroshima Peace Film Festival (Hiroshima, Japan)
１２月１４日　広島平和映画祭、広島

December 19th  PIA Film Festival (Kyoto, Japan)
１２月１９日　PIA映画祭、京都

December 21st  PIA Film Festival (Kobe, Japan)
１２月２１日　PIA映画祭、神戸

The full schedule of confirmed and announced screenings (past and present) can be found on the 'A2-B-C' website (HERE).

More blogs on the first leg of the World Tour:
Orlando, US PART 1, PART 2
Newburyport, US HERE
Guam, USA  PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4
London, UK  PART 1, PART 2, PART 3
Yamagata, JAPAN PART 1, PART 2
California, US PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5

Missing Halloween

After a wonderful week at the West Coast Premier of my documentary 'A2-B-C' in the United Nations Association Film Festival (INFO), I am at the airport and headed home to Japan... but only for a few days.  I leave for the next leg of the world tour of 'A2-B-C' one week from today for screenings in Poland and the Ukraine.

Here in the US, people are getting ready for Halloween and the decorations are out in full force.  As a child, I loved Halloween and this is one of the times each year I feel especially nostalgic since living abroad.

California and friends, THANK YOU so much for a wonderful time and for your continued support.  Much Peace and a very Happy Halloween!

My dear friends, the Kaneko Family's, cat, Sasuke, planning some tricks for Halloween

The Ethics of Photography

The amazing experiences continue this week at the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) with a beautifully curated collection of documentary films and great weather at the gorgeous Stanford University campus (PHOTOS below)... not to mention the wonderful UNAFF staff and volunteers.

On Friday, the visiting filmmakers were treated to a delicious luncheon at the Polo Club in Palo Alto, where we had an opportunity to all be in the same place at the same time and to and talk about our work while sharing a meal together.

Saturday was another inspiring day of watching films and meeting filmmakers.  I had the honour of meeting Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas (BELOW) the filmmakers behind "Tokyo Waka" (WEBSITE), a beautiful documentary that I had the pleasure of being introduced to earlier this year by a friend, and which was screened in UNAFF last year.  The film, ostensibly about crows in Tokyo, is really more about people, but I don't want to give it all away...

The highlight of the Saturday screenings for me was Willem Timmers "Framing the Other" (INFO), which follows a Dutch tourist as she travels to Africa and pays (while trying to negotiate a lower price) Mursi women and children to take their photos.  It was a stark commentary on our society, and I found it both compelling and disturbing.

The panel on the Ethics of Photography that followed the screening of "Framing the Other" was both fascinating and challenging, and brought into light the very real ethical challenges we as filmmakers and photographers face when documenting our subjects.

There but for the grace of God go I.

Planting Seeds Post-Fukushima

Yesterday, on UN Day (INFO), I had the honour of holding the West Coast Premier of 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) in the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF WEBSITE).  The screening took place in the Bechtel Conference Center of the renowned Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, and it was such an honour to have Stanford faculty and students, along with members of the public, in the audience.

Following the screening, I took part in a panel discussion called "Nuclear Trade-offs".  The panel was led by Jasmina Bojic (below, left), the Founder and Executive Director of UNAFF, Martin Hellman (below, second from left), Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Standford University, and Suzan Beraza (below, second from right), director of 'Uranium Drive-in" (INFO).

PHOTO: Priya Jadeja

Prior to the screening and panel, I wondered if the discussion would turn into a heated debate, something which the topic of nuclear power can often lead to.  But my slight nervousness (captured in the pre-screening photo below with UNAFF Founder and Executive Director, Jasmina Bojic) was unwarranted:  after watching 'A2-B-C' and 'Uranium Drive-in' the discussion seemed firmly centered in how to protect people, and not about nuclear policy.

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the afternoon was the joy in welcoming one of the youngest supporters of UNAFF to the screening of 'A2-B-C'.  Talk about planting seeds of change in the younger generation!

UN Day at the United Nations Association Film Festival

Upon arriving in San Francisco yesterday, I was met by a wonderful volunteer (thank you, Joyce!) from the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF WEBSITE) and hit the ground running.  "No rest for the wicked" has been the theme of the world tour of 'A2-B-C' and yesterday was no different; whisked off right from the airport to a reception at the festival.

I had the opportunity to meet some of the amazing UNAFF staff and volunteers and to meet some of the other visiting directors, such as Willem Timmers (below, left), director of "Framing the other", which screens on Saturday (INFO), and Tony Donoghue (below, right), director of "Irish Folk Furniture" (INFO), which screened last night after the reception.

The strand that "Irish Folk Furniture" screened in was about sustainability, and was beautifully curated.  Films like "The Story of an Egg" (an intelligent and fascinating short film about, well, eggs) and "Shady Chocolate", an expose of the chocolate industry, featured the foods that we eat.  "Shift Change" was an informative feature documentary about cooperatives, something I have never really even thought about.  But Tony's "Irish Folk Furniture", an unassuming, seemingly simple short film, was the highlight of the program for me, and combines amazing oral histories with gorgeous stop-motion animation.  It is clever, quirky, beautiful, funny, sweet, compelling... shall I go on?

Tony Donoghue, director of "Irish Folk Furniture" during the post-screening Q&A

The program was followed by a very compelling panel discussion about "Alternative Economic Models", led by United Nations Association Film Festival founder and executive director, Jasmina Bojic (far right, below).

I am so extremely honoured to be presenting the West Coast Premier of 'A2-B-C' today at UNAFF (SCHEDULE), even more so as today is UN Day (INFO).  Thank you all so very much for your support and encouragement.

Fukushima reaches California

Yesterday, I had the great honour of presenting my work and speaking at two universities in the LA area (INFO).

In the morning, I was invited by Chapman University's Dr. Alex Bay to speak to the students in his Japanese history class that examines medicine and the body in East Asia.  The students asked fascinating questions about what the people living in Fukushima are facing within the context of what they were learning about the treatment of lepers in Japan and the discrimination of victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The beautiful Chapman University campus

Presenting to Dr. Bay's class

In the afternoon, I had the honour of visiting the University of California at Irvine (UCI) where I made two presentations of my work.  Sponsored by Families For Safe Energy (FFSE WEBSITE) and the Sustainability Initiative at UCI, the first of the two events was a seminar attended by Japanese studies department students of Professors Jim Fuji and Judith Kimura.

photo by U.g. Kaneko

In the evening, following a wonderful introduction by Beverly Kaneko from FFSE, I made a two and a half hour presentation to an audience of students from Dr. John Whitely's 'Nuclear Environments' class, students from the Japanese studies department, and members of the public.  The lively discussion between screening sections of 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) was a challenging and amazing experience!

photo by U.g. Kaneko

photo by U.g. Kaneko

I am so grateful to have had this enlightening time filled with wonderful experiences in LA.

Tomorrow, I leave for San Francisco where the West Coast Premier of 'A2-B-C' will be held in the United Nations Association Film Festival on Thursday (INFO).