By Qiu Chang Wu
On October 22, the first Thursday of Block 3, over 200 people gathered in Celeste Theatre for a screening of the film “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard”, directed, produced and supported by Bryan Reichhardt, Shizumi Shigeto Manale, and the US-Japan Foundation in New York, respectively.
The film was met with praise and support, as its unique narrative won the hearts of many in the audience. It sought to explore the aftermath of the detonation of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima by sharing the stories of the people who lived with the memories of the destruction, recovery, and hope after the war.
In the subsequent years after the war, students and teachers resumed classes at Honkawa School, which was no more than 0.3 kilometers from the epicenter of the atomic bomb detonation in Hiroshima. School supplies were sent along with other humanitarian aid from a longstanding church in Washington D.C. called the All Souls Church Unitarian. In return, the children of the school sent hand drawn pictures. The pictures were rediscovered by a parishioner in 1995 after they had been stowed away and forgotten for many years. The film used these pictures to explore the stories left untold by the surviving Japanese children who created them. The vibrant pictures were surprising and absolutely beautiful because despite the horrors of war they seem to instill a sense of hope for recovery and a step towards a brighter future.
In a discussion with students and faculty, producer Manale spoke about the 8-year journey in the creation of this film. She opened up about the struggles with financing the documentary, the discovery of her own family’s story in Hiroshima, and the reasons that kept her going when the challenges seemed insurmountable. Despite the challenges, she reflected on the years and said, “I wanted to finish this film.” She worked against the clock, as many of the original artists were getting old. Since the completion of the documentary, 7 of the 21 artists whom she interviewed have passed away. She said “I’ve seen my film more than 100 times, but every time I see it, although a lot of the people have passed away, I see them alive in the film.”
Producer Manale considered this film her life work. Although the creation of the film took 8 years, the research on Hibakusya (atomic bomb survivors) had taken more than 30 years. In addition to the film, she wrote a book with the stories of the artists whose stories she was not able to fit into the 82-minute film. The book Running with Cosmos Flowers: The Children of Hiroshima can be found at select bookstores, Amazon, and Tutt library. Her original intentions were to simply document pieces of history about the reconciliation and peace after the war, such that these stories would never be forgotten. However, along the way she realized the importance and the relevance of the stories in the modern era, and wished to use the film to spread the message of hope and promise of a brighter future.
The screening of the film at Colorado College was a concerted effort between the CC Dean’s Office, Asian Studies Program, Film and Media Studies Program, and the History Department. Support from the organizations in the Colorado Springs area came from the Japan America Society of Southern Colorado, The Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance, the High Plains Church Unitarian Universalist, All Souls Unitarian Church, and the Pikes Peak Library District.
The film can be purchased here: http://www.hiroshimaschoolyard.com/
The book can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/Running-Cosmos-Flowers-Children-Hiroshima/dp/1455619663
