Event Notice: Hibakusha Outcry Reading Series

“Hibakusha Outcry” Reading Series 2009

New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) and Interborough Repertory Theater (IRT) will co-host a film screening and staged readings on consecutive Tuesdays, Sept. 15 & 22, 2009 from 7:00pm to 9:30pm in celebration of International Day of Peace at the IRT performance space, 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3B, New York, NY 10014. Admission is free.

On Sept. 15, a screening of the documentary film “Nijuuhibaku (Double Hibaku) will kick off the series. Last March, Mr. Tsutomu Yamaguchi became the first person officially certified by the Japanese government as a double A-bomb victim, a “double Hibakusha.” The film, in Japanese with English subtitles, features Mr. Yamaguchi and others who experienced the atomic bombings of both Hirroshima and Nagasaki and survived both. Following the hour long documentary film, short poems by Mr. Yamaguchi (Tanka, a specific Japanese poetic form) will be read by Chad Diehl, a Columbia graduate student who is translating the Tanka for publication in the Spring. Mr. Diehl is fluent in Japanese and English and spent a month living with Mr. Yamaguchi in Nagasaki earlier this summer.

Then, on Sept. 22, a staged reading of “Atomic Field,” a play by Kenneth Robbins directed by Sonoko Kawahara, will be performed in Japanese. Dying of lung cancer, the main character served during and post WWII, evoking memories of the war and nuclear testing during the 1950’s. The play was translated into Japanese for a Tokyo production in 2000. The cast includes Akira Takayama in the main role (“Picture Bride,” “Snow Falling on Cedars”), Bobby Nakanishi, Mami Kimura, and Asuka Morinaga. There is no English translation for this reading.

New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF), formed in 2007, presents films from around the world that advance global peace. The next festival takes place in March, 2010. Its mission is to screen films that not only highlight the advantages of peaceful solutions to international conflicts, but also deal constructively and hopefully with the root causes of war, defining peace in new and creative ways. Also of deep interest are films dealing with the proliferation and consequences of nuclear arms and energy. In addition to screenings, NYPFF also produces staged readings of related material in conjunction with IRT.

IRT is located about a 5 minute walk from the Christopher Street Station of the #1 subway line. Due to the limited seating, reservations are strongly recommended and can be made at: nypeacefilmfestival@gmail.com or by calling 212-592-3311.

For more information contact: nypeacefilmfestival@gmail.com