Japan Disaster Series in the Works

TOKYO: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) is working with local filmmakers in Japan to produce Rebuilding Japan, six inspirational stories on the country’s recovery efforts following the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japanese production companies were invited to submit their ideas for the project. With 16 finalists shortlisted from more than 250 entries to attend a three-day workshop in mid-July, six final stories were selected.

The six films feature topics from tradition to technology and manufacturing to motorsports, but all have a common theme of hope, community, courage and recovery. Seaweed Battles: Restoring a 1000-Year-Old Tradition from Studio Alta is about how seaweed growers in Miyagi delt with the possible radioactive contamination of their livelihood. Photos from the Sea: Returning Memories to Tohoku from TimeRiver Pictures features a group of volunteers striving to preserve family photos found in the wreckage of the tsunami.

In Reviving Japan’s Spirit: Record of the Tsunami Vintage from JCTV, townspeople are determined to produce sake from a world-famous sake brewery destroyed during the tsunami. Creating Utopia: One Mayor’s Ultimate Challenge from Ortus features Futoshi Toba, who lost his wife in the disaster but he cannot mourn, as he was elected mayor to the town a month before the disaster and now faces a challenge to rebuild the community. In K-Car Heroes: Racing to Rebuild from CTS, explores K-Car rebuilding and racing in the disasters aftermath and Getting Trains Back on Track from AX-ON explores the safety features on Japan’s rails that prevented a high-speed disaster.

James Gibbons, the president of Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific – Japan, said: "This project was triggered in response to the viewers of Discovery Japan, and it is so important to us to be able to show our support for the Japanese people through this initiative. There were so many compelling stories submitted by so many Japanese producers that it was very difficult to narrow them down to six finalists but we feel confident in the stories and producers we have chosen. All submissions conveyed the passion and emotions of the local filmmakers toward the recovery efforts, and many captured it from a uniquely Japanese point of view. I believe the emotional drama, bravery and energy of the Japanese people to rebuild their lives and country, despite the pain and difficulties, will resonate with Discovery’s viewers all over the world."