February 20, 2016

Film on Fukushima nuclear disaster wins Berlin film festival award

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160220/p2g/00m/0et/011000c

BERLIN (Kyodo) -- A film set in northeastern Japan's Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster was awarded the Heiner Carow Prize at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival Friday.

"Fukushima, mon Amour," which stars Japanese actress Kaori Momoi, won the prize awarded to German-produced films in the festival's diverse "Panorama" category.

German director Doris Doerrie shot the film in the city of Minamisoma last spring.

It tells the story of the connection between Momoi's character, a displaced resident living in temporary housing, and a young German woman who sympathizes with Fukushima's plight after the disaster.

The award is named after renowned German director Heiner Carow.

February 15, 2016

German-directed Fukushima drama plays at Berlin film festival

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201602150044

By ERINA ITO/ Staff Writer

BERLIN--A film staged and shot in post-disaster Fukushima Prefecture spotlighting the unlikely friendship between a young German woman and an elderly geisha was screened at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 13.

“Fukushima, mon Amour,” directed by German Doris Doerrie, stars German actress Rosalie Thomass as the woman who visits Fukushima after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in March 2011.

Japanese actress Kaori Momoi portrays Fukushima’s last geisha, who has been living in temporary housing after the disaster.

The black-and-white film focuses on the healing process to overcome what the two women have lost in their respective pasts, through their exchanges and the building of a friendship.

Doerrie shot the poignant drama last spring in Minami-Soma, a city in Fukushima Prefecture, about 15 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

She conceived of the idea from the late Tsuyako Ito, dubbed the "last geisha of Kamaishi," Iwate Prefecture, another coastal city devastated by the tsunami spawned by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Ito lived in temporary housing after the twin disasters until her death in January this year at age 89.

The film was presented in the Panorama section of the Berlin film festival.

Screening of “Fukushima, mon Amour" in Japan is yet to be decided.

At a news conference, Doerrie said what occurred in the disaster must not be forgotten and expressed hope for the film to be released in Japan.

She also acknowledged the assistance of Minami-Soma residents, who still reside in temporary housing, for educating her about their lives after the disaster and cooperating in the filming.