information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
28 Février 2012
February 29, 2012
Production of "Hameln," a film set in Fukushima Prefecture that looks at changing Japanese values, has been delayed by problems ranging from an uncooperative ginkgo tree to the Tohoku disaster of last year, and a Tokyo-based support group is asking the public for donations so the movie can be completed.
Work on the film, which is set in Showa, a village in the Oku-Aizu district of Fukushima Prefecture, began in 2009. It is scheduled to begin the final stages of filming in March.
Directed by Takushi Tsubokawa, 39, and starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Chieko Baisho, the film questions what contemporary people have lost through the story of former students of a primary school located in a depopulated area that closed. Locally raised funds have financed the film until recently.
This is the third feature film for Tsubokawa, an up-and-coming director who won the Best Feature Film Prize at the Torino Film Festival in 2005 for his debut film "Utsukushiki Tennen" (Clouds of Yesterday).
Shooting started in 2009, mainly at the former Kuimaru Primary School, which was established in 1937 and closed in 1980. However, shooting stopped in autumn 2010 as the leaves of a huge ginkgo tree, a symbolic theme in the film, did not change color due to an extremely hot summer.
Other scenes were scheduled to be filmed in May last year, but the Great East Japan Earthquake forced production to be postponed.
During production, Koin Baba, village chief of Showa, became the leader of the film's support group and promised to keep the wooden primary school, which was scheduled to be demolished, open until shooting finishes. The entire village with a population of 1,533 people was behind the film, with some villagers appearing as extras, while others prepared meals for the production staff.
However, it has become difficult to raise funds in the prefecture after the March 11 disaster even though more than one-third of the film's target production costs have already been collected.
Emi Nakamura, 47, an event producer who manages performers for the film, launched a Tokyo branch of the support group late last year.
Contributors of 10,000 yen or more can have their names included in the film's credits. Nakamura has called on people to donate or distribute leaflets, saying, "We'd like many people to feel as if they have created the film together."
For further information, visit the group's website at http://kyowado.jp/hameln
(Feb. 29, 2012)
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