In 2012, Atsushi Funahashi presented Nuclear Nation, his film about the consequences of the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Daiichi. 1400 people from nearby Futaba were evacuated to a school building in a Tokyo suburb. Funahashi documented people’s desperation with true empathy and showed the full extent of the destruction. This year, he presents the sequel. We learn that the former mayor – previously a fervent advocate of nuclear energy and now a passionate fighter for the victims of the catastrophe – has now been replaced by someone younger. The single-minded cattle breeder also makes another appearance, originally having resisted the government's orders to evacuate the disaster zone and kill his livestock. Today, a look at his animals lays bare the consequences of radioactive contamination: they all have ulcers and open wounds. It wasn't until late 2014 that the final people left the school building – but they're unlikely ever to be able to return to their homes. The epicentre of the catastrophe has been declared a toxic waste disposal site. The inhabitants of Futaba, to whom nuclear energy once brought affluence, are now alone in paying the high price for it. (Gabriela Seidel-Hollaender)
Production: Documentary Japan, Tokyo; Big River Films, Tokyo
Camera: Atsushi Funahashi, Yutaka Yamazaki
Cast: Inhabitants of the city Futaba, Fukushima, Inhabitants of the region Futaba, Katsutaka Idogawa, Shiro Izawa
Format: HDCAM 1:1.78 (16:9), Colour
Running time: 114 min
Language: Japanese
Photo: © 2014 Documentary Japan, Big River Films
Futaba kara toku hanarete dainibu
Nuclear Nation II
Atsushi Funahashi
2014
