Film screenings at Williams highlight nuclear tragedies

WILLIAMSTOWN – The Williams College Japanese Program will screen two documentary films by director Hidetaka Inazuka on the tragedies of nuclear radiation.

The first film, Twice Bombed, will be presented tonight (Oct. 11) at 7 p.m., in Paresky Auditorium, with an introduction by Eiko Maruko Siniawer, associate professor and chair of history.

Twice Bombed recounts the life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only recognized survivor of both atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It focuses specifically on the last years of his life, when he became a nuclear disarmament activist and a vocal witness to the horrors of nuclear weapons.

The second film, Chronicles from the Heartland: Fukushima 2011, will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 18, also in Paresky Auditorium at 7 p.m. This documentary deals with the post-tsunami everyday life of Fukushima residents and the meltdown of the nuclear plant.

After the screening, Mr. Inazuka will offer a discussion on the current situation of Fukushima. A reception will follow the discussion.

The film series is organized by the Williams Japanese program and co-sponsored by the departments of Asian studies, history, environmental studies and international studies, the Center for Foreign Languages and the generous support of the Joseph G. Tomkins Jr. (1962) Fund for Asian Studies.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on October 11, 2012. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry