NHK WORLD TV presents: Five Years, Five Stories
Country: Japan
Director: Rodrigue Maillard, Masami Ukon, Shingo Doita, Miki Ebara & Seigo Ogata, Ayumi Takahira
Genre: documentary
Runtime: 49 min.
Age: 12+
Families, friends, neighbors… a hometown. Every day, we take these things for granted -- until they are brutally taken away from us.
On March 11, 2011, northeastern Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and then engulfed by enormous tsunami waves. Over 18,400 people died, or are still missing. Over 34-hundred people subsequently died from causes related to the disaster.
Survivors were left with feelings of loss and devastation. These include children who lived through that painful day.
Our camera followed some of them, five years on.
At a ruined fishing town, students are building stone monuments that might help save future generations by warning them to evacuate.
A girl is following in the footsteps of her American teacher who lost her life, by striving to connect people of various cultures.
Another child joined an orchestra, hoping music will help send a message of hope.
NHK brings you five such life journeys of children... who are struggling to deal with the past and searching for ways to move forward.
