A New Moon Over Tohoku

Movie to move the heart, mind and soul

The Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) is currently ongoing. This year, I’ve been fortunate enough to dedicate time to immerse myself in some films at the festival. As usual, these films have been thought provoking and touch emotions we sometimes keep dormant.

I missed the Opening Night on November 3. The timing just didn’t work out. But able to catch two films the next night. I’ve decided to leave my impression and thoughts about the movies here on my blog. Perhaps as a memoir, perhaps as a review of some sort for those who are still on the fence about watching these movies.

The first film I watched was “A New Moon Over Tohoku”. I don’t normally choose documentaries at the film festival. Again, timing as well as options played a part in the decision. I was not disappointed.

The documentary focuses on the lives of several families from the coastal towns and villages of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, 2011 including the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. 

Many lives have been lost and changed, many towns and villages wiped out, many memories left adrift, unrecoverable. The world has moved on but it’s not so easy for those left behind to try to pick up their lives and resume some form of normalcy.

There were many moments in the film that made me choke back tears. The children singing as we view the ruined school where 75% of its students and teachers lost their lives or remained missing, the father who said he was lucky after losing his daughter because he got to be a father for 11 years, the many photographs left unclaimed after the disaster.

Despite all these, the people of Tohoku have shown resilience and a strong spirit to defeat the heartbreak and lost they’ve experienced. Some, like the young mothers are breaking their silence to bring awareness to their fear and hope for their children. Others like the samurais believe strength flows from their ancestor and they shall continue to defeat the tragedy.

The director, Linda Ohama has managed to capture all the pain, the lost, the hope and the survival of these families. This film has not only given the people of Tohoku some form of closure but also open the eyes of others that the disaster especially the nuclear accident had far-reaching consequences that continues today.

We were fortunate to have Linda Ohama join us after the screening. Her brief account of her journey in making this documentary and the families she has met makes this documentary so much more poignant. 

If you still have any doubts about catching this film, consider the heart of this director, who spent 2.5 years of her life, living in pop-up tents and carrying her own camera equipment to bring the stories of Tohoku to the world. And because the story of Tohoku is an important lesson on humanity.

Trailer here.