“Hibakusha & My Journey” Dir. Takashi Kunimoto, 64 min, color, 2008
Synopsis
“In his documentary film ‘Traveling with Hibakusha: Across Generations,’ Takashi Kunimoto focuses on the ‘younger A-bomb survivors’ who experienced the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when they were babies or small children and so don’t hold clear memories of their ordeal. The film is a record of a voyage organized by the NGO ‘Peace Boat,’ which sailed around the world for four months, from September 2008, with a group of A-bomb survivors.” – Kensuke Murashima, Peace Newspaper
Kunimoto tackles the problem of succeeding A-bomb experiences through this cruise journey with hibakushas because he himself used to feel numbed when he listened to hibakusha stories. When he witnesses hibakushas feeling at lost as they meet victims of Agent Orange, he sees something in common. A younger hibakusha who was only two-year-old at the time of bombing has no memory but has been exposed to the A-bomb. When she meets the last survivor of the Nazi attack in a Greek village, she murmurs “One of us will be the last survivor like him soon or later.” Younger hibaushas without A-bomb memories have no stories to tell, but starts a dialog among themselves about how they can and should succeed the A-Bomb experiences. In the meantime, Kunimoto looks at the honest feelings of young people in Japan and the world who have no knowledge nor interest in the A-bomb issues. This films leaves us with an important questions regarding what we can do about the A-bomb and nuclear issues.
Takashi Kunimoto Bio:
Born in 1980 in Kunitachi, Tokyo. Studied sociology in college and begins documentary production. As he worked the day job, he joined citizen’s media centers such as Tokyo Focus and OurPlanet TV and polished his video-making skills. Takashi currently is in charge of RE:C Project at the Takatori Community Center in Kobe and makes videos with young people with multicultural backgrounds. He is a member of NDS (Nakazakicho Documentary Space).
Filmography:
2003 “world cup between red and blue” –Az Contest 2nd place
2005 “40 years old girl”