USA, 2012, 54 min, English
Documentary with animation

This film is inspired to bring awareness to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in hopes that a nuclear tragedy like this will never happen again. "Hibakusha" is a Japanese term which refers to a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film was built around the story of Kaz Suyeishi, an 84-year-old survivor, who recalls her memories as an 18-year-old Japanese American student when the atomic bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima. Not only is the story compelling, but so is the form. Well into the project Steve Nguyen decided it shouldn't be a documentary with talking heads, it needed elements to bring to life the emotion of the time. And so the animated documentary was born, taking Kaz's memories and transforming them into animated reenactments. Steve Nguyen, who signed in from Los Angeles and Choz, from New York, began their creative collaboration in 2010 when Steve sought Choz out after hearing praise for his work as a director, including his work on two videos for the Far East Movement.

TRAILER
www.hibakushafilm.com