Iranian director of new film based on Sadako story visits Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Sep. 4, 2013
by Daisuke Matsumoto, Staff Writer
A movie tentatively titled “The Fourth Crane,” a joint production between Japan and Iran based on the story of Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and passed away from leukemia 10 years later at the age of 12, will soon begin filming. The director of the movie, Sirous Hassanpour, 51, an Iranian filmmaker, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on September 2. Mr. Hassanpour talked about the film, which he will start shooting in October, saying that he seeks to depict the horror of war from the perspective of children who have become victims, like Sadako.
This is Mr. Hassanpour’s second visit to Hiroshima, following his attendance at the Peace Memorial Ceremony in August of 2012. He visited the park with a contingent that included Seyyed Ahmad Miralaii, president of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, and placed flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
At the Children’s Peace Monument, which bears a likeness of Sadako on top, holding a large paper crane, Mr. Hassanpour said with emotion, “I feel I was led to this spot by Sadako, who continued folding paper cranes until the end, never giving up hope.”
The idea for the film came to Mr. Hassanpour after reading the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes five years ago. The book has been translated into Persian and is well known among children in Iran. The plot of the movie will follow a girl from Iran, a victim of the poison gas used during the Iran-Iraq War, as she visits Hiroshima and encounters the thoughts that Sadako left behind.
Mr. Hassanpour said at a press conference, “Wars are continuously being waged in the world, in such countries as Syria and Afghanistan. I would like to send a message on behalf of the children.”
Kyoko Heya, an art director who is originally from Hiroshima, will assist with the production, among others. Shooting in Hiroshima is slated to start next January.
(Originally published on September 3, 2013)
A movie tentatively titled “The Fourth Crane,” a joint production between Japan and Iran based on the story of Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and passed away from leukemia 10 years later at the age of 12, will soon begin filming. The director of the movie, Sirous Hassanpour, 51, an Iranian filmmaker, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on September 2. Mr. Hassanpour talked about the film, which he will start shooting in October, saying that he seeks to depict the horror of war from the perspective of children who have become victims, like Sadako.
This is Mr. Hassanpour’s second visit to Hiroshima, following his attendance at the Peace Memorial Ceremony in August of 2012. He visited the park with a contingent that included Seyyed Ahmad Miralaii, president of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, and placed flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
At the Children’s Peace Monument, which bears a likeness of Sadako on top, holding a large paper crane, Mr. Hassanpour said with emotion, “I feel I was led to this spot by Sadako, who continued folding paper cranes until the end, never giving up hope.”
The idea for the film came to Mr. Hassanpour after reading the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes five years ago. The book has been translated into Persian and is well known among children in Iran. The plot of the movie will follow a girl from Iran, a victim of the poison gas used during the Iran-Iraq War, as she visits Hiroshima and encounters the thoughts that Sadako left behind.
Mr. Hassanpour said at a press conference, “Wars are continuously being waged in the world, in such countries as Syria and Afghanistan. I would like to send a message on behalf of the children.”
Kyoko Heya, an art director who is originally from Hiroshima, will assist with the production, among others. Shooting in Hiroshima is slated to start next January.
(Originally published on September 3, 2013)
