October 5, 2015/ 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

UCLA Charles E. Young Library Conference Room

with Director Hitomi Kamanaka

Photo: Hitomi Kamanaka, 2015.

On March 11, 2011, massive earthquakes hit the Tohoku area in northeastern Japan and caused the catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Several years have passed since that fateful day, and large numbers of families–including children–continue to live in the contaminated regions. The reasons for staying behind are varied. Some lack the financial resources necessary to relocate, while some others were victims of government failure to provide appropriate instruction about the need for evacuation.

Little Voices from Fukushima (小さき声のカノン) is a documentary film dedicated to giving voice to the mothers and children living in Fukushima in their post-nuclear meltdown world. Seeing the parallels between the Fukushima disaster and Chernobyl, director Hitomi Kamanaka takes us to Belarus, where people are still suffering from the aftereffects of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The mothers in Belarus have valuable lessons to offer to the mothers in Fukushima, who face a daily struggle of uncertainty and doubt as they do everything in their power to protect their children's well-being. 

Hitomi Kamanaka is a documentary filmmaker and media activist who has been working on the issue of nuclear power and radiation for the past two decades. Following her studies at the National Film Board of Canada,  she worked as a media activist at Paper Tiger Television in New York. After returning to Japan, she has directed several documentaries, including HIBAKUSHA—At the End of the World (2003), and Ashes to Honey—Toward a Sustainable Future (2010). 

Click here to watch an interview with Ms. Kamanaka by one of our graduate students, Yoh Kawano. (Related article: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/fukushima-2015)

Free & open to the public!

kamanaka.com/canon/english/

Sponsor(s): Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies