Thursday, March 20, 2014

How to "do" a film and World Tour

Since I embarked on the World Tour of 'A2-B-C' last September (WEBSITE), I have circled the globe three times visiting Guam, London, India, Ukraine and many other countries at more than 20 different film festivals.  I am so grateful for this opportunity and humbled by the reception that this small film has received.

Recently some people (and even some of my fellow filmmaker friends) have been unable to resist asking me that personal question that filmmakers do not like being asked: How are you doing this?

"Doing" is a code for "financing", and implicit in this question is the need for people to separate filmmakers into two groups: those that make a living from their films and those who do it as a "hobby", using their own money to pay for their "habit" of making films.

Allow me to put this question into perspective: imagine you're at a dinner party and someone you don't know very well comes up to you and asks, "So, how do you pay your rent?", followed by further probing questions to determine exactly what percentage of your total income is the result of how you spend the majority of your time.  If the percentage is high enough (according to the standards of this person whom you've only just met), there is a respectful nod.  However, if the percentage is too low (or, God forbid, zero), a slight smirk appears across their face and you are dismissed as a hobbyist.

Ironically, this uncomfortable situation is one that even filmmakers themselves put each other into!  I've been asked this question in the green room of film festivals, during meetings of documentary filmmakers, in e-mails and at dinner with friends.

So, how did I "do" my film and the resulting World Tour?

FILM FESTIVALS
While not financial in nature, I am grateful for the support of so many wonderful film festivals.

Having made films for more than ten years now, I am fortunate to have many great relationships with film festival directors and curators all over the world to whom I submitted the rough cut of the film well before it was finished.  Even though 'A2-B-C' was a very different film in the early stages, based solely on the rough cut (and perhaps on my history of delivering a finished film on time) several festivals programmed the film before they ever saw the final cut.  I am so grateful for this support, and the belief these festivals had in what I was doing gave me the strength to keep going and get the film done.

The first person to program 'A2-B-C' based on the very rough early edit of the film, was Marion Klomfass, director of the Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany (WEBSITE).  This is where the World Premier of the film was held and is also where it received its first major prize (INFO).  [Other festivals to award the film were the Guam International Film Festival (INFO) and STEPS Rights International Film Festival in Ukraine (INFO).]

A short documentary about the Nippon Connection Film Festival was recently published, and I am honoured that it includes my interview:


THE MEDIA
While obviously this support is not financial, I could not have accomplished any of this without the support of so many media organizations.

Despite the initial struggle getting Japanese media to cover the film, I am grateful for the early support of foreign journalists and the coverage 'A2-B-C' received in the foreign media, including THIS article in the Press Republican (NY) and THIS one in the Japan Times (Tokyo), both from September 2013.

Having recently marked the 3rd anniversary of the March 11 disaster, several more mentions of my work have been in the news, including an article which appeared in the March 2014 issue of Hong Kong-based Magazine P (screen grab below).
Even the Japanese media has recently begun to cover the film with a mention of 'A2-B-C' in the Tokyo Shinbun Sunday Edition's coverage of March 11 disaster films (published on March 9, photo below), THIS March 14 press release on Eiga.com (the biggest website in Japan for film-related news) which announced the release of 'A2-B-C' in theatres across Japan starting in May, and THIS Tsuhan Seikatsu article that was published on March 18 (screen grab, 2nd below).



ORGANIZATIONS
While I am fully autonomous from any group or affiliation and therefore do not receive any funding from them, there are several groups whose work supports mine, both directly and indirectly.

I am so grateful to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and its member experts Dr. Alex Rosen and Dr. Dörte Siedentopf whose research informs and contextualizes the work I am doing in Fukushima.  (I recently returned from an IPPNW-organized and Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau-sponsored conference which I wrote about beginning with THIS entry).

In addition, I am grateful for the support of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), which held a May 2013 press conference for 'A2-B-C' prior to the World Premier (INFO).  As a member of the FCCJ, having the ability to attend press conferences with experts, politicians and news-makers is another great resource for which I am grateful.  For example, I attended THIS March 17 press conference with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, and just today, I attended THIS one with Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur, from which I live tweeted (Twitter account HERE, photo and screenshot below).



THE PARTICIPANTS
I am so grateful to all of the families and doctors in Fukushima who speak with me at great personal risk.  The families face being ostracized by their government, communities, and even from members of their own family who don't agree with them, while the doctors face obvious professional pressures.  Yet they still choose to speak out and continue to entrust me with their story.

with some of the families who appeared in 'A2-B-C', March 2014

with Dr. Konta, Dr. Miyake and Dr. Taneichi in Fukushima

In addition to granting me interviews, I receive many other kinds of support from the participants in the film, including everything from rides to the station (which means not having to rent a car that day) to allowing me to spend the night in the hospital where I am filming (which means not only more access, but also not having to pay for a hotel room that night).

spending the night in a Fukushima hospital while researching

What looks like a medical device in my hospital room turns out to be the TV tubes (!).

FILM DISTRIBUTORS and FILMMAKERS
To receive the support of fellow filmmakers and film distributors is extremely humbling.  It was the support of Third Window Films (WEBSITE) that made last year's screening of 'A2-B-C' in London's Raindance possible (INFO).  Third Window also helped make it possible for me to attend that screening, and I am grateful for their continuing encouragement (HERE).  My own Japanese distributor is taking a huge risk with 'A2-B-C', a film that lies well outside any of the genres they usually represent.

I am also extremely grateful to my team members Colin O'Neill and Ed Ison, both of whom are amazing filmmakers and who have taught me so many things about making films.  I am also grateful for fellow filmmaker Ivan Kovak's advice, which he gave me just in the nick of time on the day before we locked picture on 'A2-B-C' (!) and I believe helped to change the trajectory of this film.

FRIENDS and FAMILY
Without the support and encouragement of friends and family, I wouldn't be able to do anything.  I am so grateful for the support I have received over all the years and especially during the three years since the March 11 disaster.  This support includes encouraging messages of love, care packages from home, and, yes, even help with airfare as I attend film festivals that have big hearts but small budgets.

with my dad and sister just a few years ago and then earlier this month

SUPPORTERS
From time to time, I am offered much-needed help for which I am extremely grateful.  This support usually comes when all I have left is the faith that I am doing the work I am being called to do, but no idea how I am going to continue financing it.  This support is always exactly what I need exactly when I need it, never any left over but always enough.

I will not name them here, but I will be forever grateful to them, these supporters who have helped to make it possible to share the story of the families and children living in Fukushima with people all over the world
 
HOW TO "DO" A FILM AND WORLD TOUR
So, how do I "do" what I do?  To be honest, I still don't know exactly how I have been able to do all that I have over the past year.

All I can say is that I didn't do any of it by myself, and that making films, like everything in this life, takes faith, prayer and gratitude.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

East meets Far East

Screenings of 'A2-B-C' around the world continue this month, with the film showing in several cities on the East Coast of the US.  Beginning in Washington DC during the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, 'A2-B-C' will screen in the strand curated by the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) Traveling Festival on March 26 (Screening INFO).


'A2-B-C' will then screen in New York City on March 30 where I am thrilled to be invited for the post-screening discussion (screening INFO).


The screenings will culminate at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute's lecture and film series "Japan At the Brink: Precarity of Youth in Films of Disaster and Dystopia" on March 31 (screening INFO).  I am extremely honoured to be invited to take part in the post-screening discussion led by Hideaki Fujiki, professor of film at Nagoya University.  I first had the honour of meeting professor Fujiki at last year's Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and then again when he invited me to Nagoya last year to screen the film in his department (INFO).

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Interpreting Secrets

Last week, I attended the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) congress "The Effects of Nuclear Disasters on the Natural Environment and Human Beings" (INFO) which was sponsored by the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau.  I wrote about this experience in detail beginning with THIS entry.

My first contact with IPPNW was one year ago when one of my photographs of a child in Fukushima receiving a thryroid sonogram was published alongside an article by IPPNW member doctor Alex Rosen in the March 2013 issue of IPPNW Forum (HERE).  This coincided with the 2nd anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Japan.

Earlier this year, Dr. Rosen asked me to write an article for the March 2014 edition of the journal about the so-called Secrecy Law which had been recently passed in Japan.  In this month's IPPNW Forum, along with several articles marking the 3rd anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, my article was published in German under the title "Interpretationssache Staatsgeheimnis" or "Interpreting Secrets" (LINK).

The English text, edited by Sara Lushia, is below.


In November of 2013, in the midst of a global tour with my documentary film, ‘A2-B-C,’ which focuses on the children living in Fukushima after the nuclear meltdown, I attended a press conference at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan. The conference was held by Social Democratic Party member Mizuho Fukushima, Mr. Sohei Nihi of the Japanese Communist Party, Mr. Ryo Shuhama of the People’s Life Party, and Independent lawmaker Taro Yamamoto.  They were in opposition of the then proposed “Designated Secrets Bill,” which, if passed, would grant the Japanese government the power to arrest, imprison and/ or fine anyone accused of revealing “state secrets”.

What exactly would be considered a “state secret” under the proposed bill? 

Speaking at the press conference, Mizuho Fukushima shared that she had asked that very question of the lawmakers in the ruling party, and the reply she received had alarmed her:  “What is considered secret,” she was told, “is secret.”

In response to the proposed bill, the president of the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan, Lucy Birmingham, published a statement of protest:

The "Designated Secrets Bill" specifically warns journalists that they must not engage in "inappropriate methods" in conducting investigations of government policy. This appears to be a direct threat aimed at the media profession and is unacceptably open to wide interpretations in individual cases. Such vague language could be, in effect, a license for government officials to prosecute journalists almost as they please.

The law proposed by this bill would ostensibly protect issues deemed to be of national security.  However, the Japanese government’s intentions were called into question when it used recent cases of whistle-blowing abroad as examples of why such a law was needed.

The bill’s introduction and debate coincided with the awarding of the 2020 Summer Olympics to Japan, even as news continued to trickle out about continuing problems at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima.  Adding further potential for the Japanese government to face embarrassment on the international stage, the results of the Fukushima Health Management Survey, which is being overseen by the government, had recently revealed 58 cases of suspected pediatric thyroid cancer in children living in Fukushima (as of publication, the number is now 75, with 100,000 children still be to tested).

With my recent filming being almost exclusively in Fukushima, some of my friends and colleagues began telling me to “be careful,” whatever that was supposed to mean.  How can you “be careful” when you don’t even know what you aren’t supposed to be doing?

Late one night last December, as the ruling party forcibly rammed the Designated Secrets Bill through before the Diet went into recess for the New Year holiday, I was reviewing footage for my new documentary about children living in Fukushima.  Would work like mine, interviewing doctors in Fukushima, collecting data and recording testimonies, be considered a “state secret”?

I had good reason to be asking myself this question. After living in Japan for many years, last summer the application for renewal of my working visa was suddenly denied.  Although I have no proof that there was any connection, my visa renewal was denied just two months after I had returned with a major award from the Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, where the World Premier of ‘A2-B-C’ (2013) had taken place. 

I hired an immigration lawyer, and through an appeal process my working visa was eventually renewed; but just for one year, not the typical three.  Several people advised me to “lay low” for the next year until the visa was renewed again, after which I would technically qualify to apply for permanent residency.  By “lay low,” I inferred they meant to stop filming anything related to Fukushima.

At the press conference before the bill was passed, Independent lawmaker Taro Yamamoto had expressed his disbelief at the lack of media coverage the proposed bill was receiving.  “By not providing coverage of this bill,” Yamamoto had said, “the media is putting a noose around its own neck.”  Sadly, his prediction seems to have come true.

Before the designated secrets bill was even passed into law, its affect was already being felt.  Professional journalists and newspaper editors, bloggers and social media users were asking themselves “could what I am about to publish be considered a ‘state secret’?” and then weighing how much risk they were willing to take.  The bill had yet to become law but it had already motivated the people it was meant to control to start controlling themselves through self-censorship.

There is no way to know if my continued filming in Fukushima puts me in danger of unwittingly revealing something considered a “state secret.”  Every day that I continue to document the ongoing situation, I do so knowing that it could possibly affect my ability to remain in the country that has been my home for more than ten years.

Yet, if it is the work I do in Japan, this country I so dearly love, that causes me to be unable to remain here, then I will have no choice but to leave; for ceasing the work I am doing in Japan simply so that I can remain here would be stepping back and silently witnessing Japan turn into a country in which I would no longer wish to live.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Three years ago today.

It was three years ago today that the March 11, 2011, triple disasters changed our lives forever. 

© Edd Jhong 2014 INFO
People often ask me, "Why did you decide to make films about Fukushima?".  But the truth is, I didn't decide to; it was simply something I was compelled to do.  I don't make films about the nuclear disaster because I want to, I make them because I must.  I've never wanted to do this work, and I wish we lived in a world where I didn't have to.  I wish I could go back to that place of ignorance and selfishness I was in before this disaster, but I cannot; for we cannot un-see what we have seen, un-know what we have come to know, return to who we once were.

And the famous George Santayana quote warns us: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

© Edd Jhong 2014 INFO

"I am not an activist.  I am not an activist,"  I hear myself say as I slowly become one, those seeds planted three years ago today taking root.  And like a tree that has not been intentionally planted in one's yard but rather has sprung up through the miraculous power of nature, a choice must be made: should the tree be cut down simply because it was not my intention for it to be planted here, or do I allow it to grow in the trust that the universe knows more than me about where the trees should be?

With renowned Taiwanese actor/ director Leon Dia and film director Cheng Yu-chieh  © Edd Jhong 2014

Afterward

The journey I have been on during the past three years has changed my life in ways both professional and deeply personal.  It began on March 11, 2011, which I wrote about HERE.  I then reflected on this on this journey in a short documentary I edited for the 2nd anniversary of March 11 in 2012:


The above photographs were taken by award-winning photographer Edd Jhong for his "No Nuke" project (INFO).  Taken in Taipei when my film 'A2-B-C' was screened there earlier this month (INFO), the photographs were published in the lead-up to a large anti-nuclear demonstration and rally in Taiwan on March 8 (INFO), timed to coincide with the anniversary of the March 11 disaster.

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Another 48 hours

On Friday, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)-organized congress, "The Effects of Nuclear Disasters on the Natural Environment and Human Beings" (INFO), came to a close at the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau's Martin Niemoller Haus (Arnoldshain) Conference Center.

The night before, Dr. Siedentopf had asked me what the conference participants had said during the interviews I was recording for a documentary about the event; Dr. Siedentopf was writing the press release about the congress with the IPPNW Press Officer and a representative of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, and was looking for quotes to include.  Reviewing the footage, I found several quotes that I felt really spoke to what was at the heart of this event.  

During her closing remarks, Dr. Siedentopf read three of the quotes from my interviews, beginning with this one:
"The biggest impression on me from this conference is that different people are all eager to protect the future of their children.  From one point of view we are all different, but from the other point of view we are all the same, in our intention to protect our children.  We all want our children to be healthy and happy.  It’s very important that all countries, all nations, just realize that we are all equal in our emotions, in our fears and in our thoughts about the future of our children."


Following the closing remarks at noon (and a quick photograph with friends and Fukushima physicians Dr. Taneichi and Dr. Konta, BELOW) I rushed to the airport in Frankfurt to take a flight to Zurich where 'A2-B-C' was screening that evening (Zurich screening INFO).


After arriving in Switzerland and with a few minutes to spare before the screening at the famous Rote Fabrik, I stood on the shores of the gorgeous Lake Zurich to breathe in the air.


The screening was followed by a Q&A led by event organizer and filmmaker/ curator Beatrice Jäggi. I was then extremely honoured to take part in a wonderful panel discussion with Dr. Martin Walter (medical internist) and Dr. André Herrmann (nuclear expert) led by Martin Läubli (journalist with Tages-Anzeiger).


 
After the event (and a quick drink), I laid down for a few short hours before I was off again to the airport for a 7AM flight back to Frankfurt (!) where a public screening of the film was held last night (Frankfurt screening INFO).

Back in Germany, I headed to Dr. Siedentopf's home where I arrived so early I was invited to the breakfast table.  We then headed out to the picturesque town of Zeligenstadt for some sightseeing with some of the Belorussian guests who were in town for the conference.  After visiting the church and cloister built in 830 a.d. (!) we stopped for a glass of carrot juice in the town square.  


L to R: radiation experts Dr. Danilova and Dr. Malko, Ms. Lukovichka (all from Belarus) and Dr. Siedentopf

Meanwhile, an interview that was filmed during the congress for German TV station WDR aired (video available HERE for one week from March 8, 2014).


In the evening, I headed to Frankfurt for the public screening of 'A2-B-C'.  This was a kind of homecoming for me as this screening was arranged by Nippon Connection, the festival that had held the World Premier of 'A2-B-C' last June and awarded the film its first major prize (INFO).  It was an honour and a great pleasure to again meet Marion Klomfass (festival director) and other Nippon Connection staff and volunteers.

With the 3rd anniversary of March 11 quickly approaching, there were more screenings this weekend  in Europe than I could attend in person.  Last night, 'A2-B-C' was also screened in Amsterdam (info HERE).  Luckily, the screening in Amsterdam began 30 minutes before the one in Frankfurt, so I conducted the post-screening Q&A with the Dutch audience from the projection booth in Germany while the film was still screening.  Then, with the screening just about to end, I quickly ran down to the theatre where a Q&A with the Frankfurt audience was held.  With two Q&A's back-to-back, there were a few times I wasn't sure if I was repeating myself or not, and at one point I had even forgotten what country I was in (!).

Skype Q&A with the Dutch audience from the projection booth in Germany

Q&A in Frankfurt
After I bid farewell this afternoon to my new Belorussian friends and to the kind and generous Siedentopf's, I again found myself at the airport in Frankfurt, this time on my way home to Japan.  Typically before I fly, I try to relax and focus myself as I change gears in preparation for wherever I am headed; but after checking in for my flight, I rushed to the toilet where I conducted yet another Q&A via Skype, this time with an audience in Poland who were about to see the film (Warsaw screening info HERE).  This was both my first pre-screening discussion (arranged such because of the timing of my flight), and the first Q&A I have conducted in a toilet (!).


Now, I am about to board the plane heading home...

Thank you all so very much for your support and encouragement over these past three years.

With Gratitude and in Peace,

Ian
March 9, 2014
Frankfurt, Germany
Martin Walter (Ärzte für soziale Verantwortung), André Herrmann (Berater Strahlenschutz, Präsident eidgenössische Strahlenschutzkommission bis 2012). Moderation Martin Läubli (Journalist Tages-Anzeiger) - See more at: http://www.rotefabrik.ch/de/konzept/eventdetail.php?id=19493#sthash.Zwf45UbN.dpuf
Martin Walter (Ärzte für soziale Verantwortung), André Herrmann (Berater Strahlenschutz, Präsident eidgenössische Strahlenschutzkommission bis 2012). Moderation Martin Läubli (Journalist Tages-Anzeiger) - See more at: http://www.rotefabrik.ch/de/konzept/eventdetail.php?id=19493#sthash.Zwf45UbN.dpuf
Martin Walter (Ärzte für soziale Verantwortung), André Herrmann (Berater Strahlenschutz, Präsident eidgenössische Strahlenschutzkommission bis 2012). Moderation Martin Läubli (Journalist Tages-Anzeiger) - See more at: http://www.rotefabrik.ch/de/konzept/eventdetail.php?id=19493#sthash.Zwf45UbN.dpu

Friday, March 07, 2014

The Science of Fellowship

Morning has broken at the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau's Martin Niemoller Haus (Arnoldshain) Conference Center where the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)-organized congress "The Effects of Nuclear Disasters on the Natural Environment and Human Beings" (INFO) is taking place.


The day began with the reading of a short story called "The Most Important Thing in Life", about the tsunami and subsequent contamination of the ocean.  Accompanied by pictures, the story was read by 3rd year medical student Akari Konta, the eldest daughter of Fukushima doctor Kaoru Konta.  Later, many people commented on the use of art (including film) to document this disaster.


The day's papers then began with personal statements, including their observations about pediatric thyroid cancer cases in Fukushima, by Dr. Konta Kaoru and Dr. Taneichi Yasuyuki.  I am honoured to know both of these doctors quite well and have spent much time with them over the past few months.



These were followed by the papers of Dr. Danilova, Dr. Zubec (at 28, the youngest scientist at this congress) and the much-respected Dr. Malko, all experts in the health affects of radiation exposure following the accident at Chernobyl.




In the afternoon, there were two fascinating papers presented about wildlife living in areas of radioactive contamination by Dr. Timothy Mousseau and Cornelia Hesse-Honegger.

Again, information from all of the papers presented at the congress, including power point presentations, are being collected and uploaded to the IPPNW website as a free resource to be shared across the world (HERE).


In addition to the scientific research being presented at this congress, there has been time for fellowship for the international participants during meals, coffee breaks, and even during sing-alongs (and drinks!) in the evenings.



By wonderful coincidence today was Dr. Taneichi's birthday, and after the last session, the members gathered together to celebrate.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Papers and People

In addition to the many papers being presented at the IPPNW congress in Arnoldshain this week, there is an exhibition about World Hibakusha (victims of radiation exposure) set up in the halls of the conference centre.


With participants attending from many countries, the entire congress is being simultaneously interpreted into German, Japanese and English by four full-time interpreters.



Information from all of the papers presented at the congress, including power point presentations, are being collected and uploaded to the IPPNW website as a free resource to be shared across the world (HERE).

Some of the highlights from Wednesday's program:

Dr. Sakiyama Hisaki presents "Mechanism of Radiation-Induced Aging"

Dr. Ian Fairlie presents "Fukushima and Chernobyl: Comparison of Source Terms and Health Effects"

Dr. Keith Baverstock presents "IAEO - WHO Connection and Information Policy after Fukushima
In addition to recording the presentations, I am also recording short documentary clips with some of the conference's presenters, organizers and participants.  Today I interviewed comedienne and citizen journalist Ms. Oshidori Mako.


At the end of today's presentations, attending members were treated to a musical interlude and reception sponsored by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN).

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Statistics are people, too

Last evening was the opening of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)-organized congress "The Effects of Nuclear Disasters on the Natural Environment and Human Beings" (INFO).


The congress is being held in the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau's Martin Niemoller Haus (Arnoldshain) Conference Center.  During his welcome speech, Dr. Martin Repp explained the significance of the congress being held in this place:
"Martin Niemoller belonged to those pastors in the Third Reich who had the courage out of their religious faith to openly stand up against Hitler's totalitarian regime and its terror.   After World War II, he became the first Church President (a kind of bishop) of the church in Hesse and Nassau."

Dr. Repp's references to the Nazis in his opening speech continued when he mentioned my film, 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE):
"I... learned about the cold-blooded behaviour of the leading physician of Fukushima Prefecture, Dr. Yamashita, which reminded me of the contempt of human beings of the Nazi-physician Dr. Mengele.  Ian Thomas Ash has documented Dr. Yamashita's words in his film which we shall see later in the evening.

"The government encourages or forces the people to stay in contaminated areas and endure terrible medical and social conditions, and to eat and sell contaminated food.  ('A2-B-C') clearly illustrates such terror of citizens by a nuclear company and the government."
Attending the conference are many Belorussian, German and Japanese doctors, scientists and researchers who have dedicated their lives to trying to understand the disasters at Chernobyl, Fukushima and beyond.  Among them are three influential women whom many Japanese people turn to for independent data:  Dr. Hiranuma Yuri, Dr. Sakiyama Hisako and independant journalist Oshidori Mako (PHOTO below).


When we talk about statistics and data, we sometimes forget that these numbers represent actual human beings.  It was an immense honour to be invited to screen 'A2-B-C' for these leading radiation experts on the opening evening of this international congress.  During the post-screening Q&A, I clarified that I am not attending this conference as an expert of any kind, but rather my hope is that my film can be used as a tool to share the voices and experiences of the families and children currently living in Fukushima.  I asked for the continued support of the attending physicians and scientists for their help in understanding what I am documenting.


Dr. Danilova Larisa Ivanovna, of the Belarusan Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education, (photo BELOW), shared that the symptoms the children in Fukushima are experiencing as described by the mothers in 'A2-B-C' are strikingly similar to those found in the children following the meltdown in Chernobyl.