Hong Kong film director and second-generation A-bomb survivor share wish for peace through new documentary
Apr. 30, 2013
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
Man Lam, 44, a film director from Hong Kong, is making a documentary based on his personal exchange with a second-generation A-bomb survivor and their mutual desire for peace. The 66-year-old survivor, Yoshinori Tsubouchi, is a resident of Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture. On April 23, Mr. Lam shot footage for the film in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
To express his wish for peace, Mr. Lam attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Hiroshima last August 6. It was then that the director decided to create a film set in Hiroshima.
When Mr. Lam visited Hiroshima again in November to take part in the Damar Film Festival, he was introduced to Mr. Tsubouchi. Mr. Tsubouchi told him about his mother Tsukimi, 91, who entered the hypocenter area to engage in relief efforts in the aftermath of the bombing. Forming a friendship, they began envisioning a documentary film that would trace Tsukimi’s experience on that fateful day and convey the importance of friendship and peace.
Shooting in Hiroshima began on April 18 and will continue for ten days with the support of the Hiroshima Film Commission, based in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. In Peace Memorial Park, Mr. Lam shot a scene in which Mr. Tsubouchi thinks about his mother as he gazes at the reflection of the A-bomb Dome on the water of the Motoyasu River.
Mr. Lam said, “Through my friendship with Mr. Tsubouchi, I would like to express my wish for peace by looking ahead into the future.” Mr. Tsubouchi added, “I hope the film will convey to the next generation how precious life is, something my mother always stressed to me when I was young.”
The finished film will be about 30 minutes and will be screened at the Damar Film Festival in Hiroshima in November 2013.
(Originally published on April 24, 2013)
Man Lam, 44, a film director from Hong Kong, is making a documentary based on his personal exchange with a second-generation A-bomb survivor and their mutual desire for peace. The 66-year-old survivor, Yoshinori Tsubouchi, is a resident of Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture. On April 23, Mr. Lam shot footage for the film in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
To express his wish for peace, Mr. Lam attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Hiroshima last August 6. It was then that the director decided to create a film set in Hiroshima.
When Mr. Lam visited Hiroshima again in November to take part in the Damar Film Festival, he was introduced to Mr. Tsubouchi. Mr. Tsubouchi told him about his mother Tsukimi, 91, who entered the hypocenter area to engage in relief efforts in the aftermath of the bombing. Forming a friendship, they began envisioning a documentary film that would trace Tsukimi’s experience on that fateful day and convey the importance of friendship and peace.
Shooting in Hiroshima began on April 18 and will continue for ten days with the support of the Hiroshima Film Commission, based in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. In Peace Memorial Park, Mr. Lam shot a scene in which Mr. Tsubouchi thinks about his mother as he gazes at the reflection of the A-bomb Dome on the water of the Motoyasu River.
Mr. Lam said, “Through my friendship with Mr. Tsubouchi, I would like to express my wish for peace by looking ahead into the future.” Mr. Tsubouchi added, “I hope the film will convey to the next generation how precious life is, something my mother always stressed to me when I was young.”
The finished film will be about 30 minutes and will be screened at the Damar Film Festival in Hiroshima in November 2013.
(Originally published on April 24, 2013)