by Robert Moorehead

Filmed in Ishinomaki in November, 2011, this documentary includes interviews with survivors of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters of March 11. This moving documentary is the recipient of Best Documentary and the Grand Prix prize at Super Shorts Film Festival, 2012.

The video is also available in the following languages:
Portuguese: vimeo.com/41279189
Italian: vimeo.com/40420477

The filmmakers have also released “The Women of Fukushima,” a documentary film that examines the experiences of eight women whose lives have been changed by the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. This disaster has compelled these women to become activists in the social movement against nuclear power in Japan.

My Japanese students often tell me that there are no social movements in Japan, and that Japanese people don’t participate in such events. Not only does this view negate the existence of 60 years of protest in what is now Okinawa prefecture, but it also views the people who participate in such movements as somehow different from everyone else in Japan.

The “Women of Fukushima” challenges this view, by giving viewers a feeling of connection with these women. Hopefully this connection will compel more Japanese to speak up and demand a safer future for them and their children.

“The Women of Fukushima” is available for online rental and purchase (for only $8) at women-of-fukushima.com.