Md. Taqi Yasir
A Japanese filmmaker based in the United States has made a documentary about the lives of Fukushima residents and their determination to continue pursuing their passions despite major obstacles resulting from the 2011 nuclear disaster.
Toko Shiiki’s 90-minute film titled “Threshold: Whispers of Fukushima” documented people in the northeastern Japanese prefecture whose lives were entirely changed by the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station triggered by the March 11 powerful earthquake and tsunami.
The filmmaker chose to emphasize the successes of its subjects rather than their problems. The movie features children who have worked hard to rebuild their lives, such as a “taiko” drum team in Kawamata and members of a brass band at a junior high school in Minamisoma, all of whom continued practicing despite the accident forcing them to evacuate their hometown.
“I especially hope people outside Japan watch this film,” Shiiki, 43, said in an interview in New York.