Surviving the Tsunami - My Atomic Aunt
- Sundance Institute Documentary Grant Winner (2012)
- NaturVision, German Conservation and Sustainability Film Prize (2014)
- PUMA Creative Catalyst Award, Channel4 BRITDOC Foundation
- TIFFCOM Best Pitch Award at Tokyo International Film Festival
- Best Pitch Award at Tokyo TV Forum (2011)
- Best Japan Pitch at Asian Side of the Doc
- Gold Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, Television Awards (2014)
Once avid supporters of the local nuclear plant and its managers, Aunt Kuniko and her community are on the verge of being permanently excluded from their homes in the aftermath of the nuclear catastrophe.
Director Kyoko Miyake, having lived outside of Japan for more than a decade, feels compelled to revisit Fukushima. She wants to find out the fate of her family's home-town Namie, which with its golden beaches and friendly neighbours used to be her childhood idyll. Today, Namie is a shadow of its former self having been completely destroyed by the tsunami and, because of the threat of radiation from the nearby power plant, might never be rebuilt.
Following her aunt Kuniko, Miyake begins to question her nostalgic childhood memories and in so doing understand the harsh economic realities and sacrifices that her Aunt and the people of Namie had to make in order to survive.
Producer / Production Details
An Inselfilm Production
NHK (Japan) / BBC (UK) / WDR (Germany) /IKON (Netherlands) / SVT (Sweden) / Knowledge Network (Canada) /YES Docu (Israel)