On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, leaving 15,372 people confirmed dead and 7,762 reported still missing. In the wake of the largest earthquake in the country’s history, some people drew the courage to revive and rebuild from cherry-blossom season, which began within weeks of the tragedy.

Oscar-nominated this year for Best Documentary Short Subject, ‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’ shows how nature can be a rejuvenating – as well as a destructive – force when it debuts Monday, July 16 (10:00-10:40 PM ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Directed by Lucy Walker (the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “Waste Land”), this poignant film debuts immediately after the debut of the SXSW Film Festival hit “Birders: The Central Park Effect,” which offers a different look at how nature touches people.

The documentary will also show on HBO on July 18 (12:15 PM), July 24 (4:15 PM) and July 28 (6:00 AM, 3:15 PM).

The film will also be shown on HBO2 on July 18 (9:00 PM).

HBO Documentary Films presents another weekly series this summer, debuting provocative new specials every Monday through July 30. Other July films include: “Hard Times: Lost on Long Island” (July 9); “Birders: The Central Park Effect” (July 16); “Vito” (July 23); and “About Face: Supermodels Then and Now” (July 30).

‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’ is a stunning visual poem about the ephemeral nature of life, and the healing power of Japan’s most beloved flower. The nation is transfixed by cherry blossom season, which runs from late March through April, with many people tracking the blossoms’ short life-cycle and attending “hanami,” or viewing parties, with family and friends.

Walker had originally planned to visit Japan to make a film about the cherry-blossom season, but on March 11, 2011, while she was making final preparations for her trip, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck, triggering tsunami waves of up to 133 feet on Japan’s northeastern coast. Initially unsure whether to continue, she flew to Tokyo with a small film crew and headed north to the Tohuku region, where she captured both the utter devastation and stoic resolve of survivors, many of whom had lost family members and friends.

‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’ opens with harrowing home-video footage, shot from a hill, of a huge wave destroying the town below. A month later, a young woman stands on the same hill, remembering how she “watch[ed] people being consumed by the tsunami.” An older man tells how he tried and failed to save his oldest friend, proclaiming, “I don’t want a house. I don’t want clothes. I don’t want anything. I just want his life back.”

Others tell their stories of survival, escaping in their slippers and seeing whole houses rush toward them on a wave of black water. One couple living at a community center returns to the ruins of their house, hoping to rebuild. Their town is within the 30km exclusion zone around the Fukushima power plant, and many people wear cotton masks as protection from radiation.

Amidst the despair in the days following the tsunami comes a glimmer of hope in “sakura” (cherry blossom), a harbinger of spring in Japan and a national symbol of renewal. One man explains how the cherry blossom reflects the Japanese character, saying, “Each flower is tiny, and you can’t see one individually. But it’s beautiful when you see lots of flowers together. Japanese people see themselves that way too.”

Out of respect for the victims, many viewing parties were canceled this year, but people still visit the blossoms and take pictures. A man who lost his house shows where new plant shoots have sprouted on the beach, commenting that if plants can hang in there, humans can too. A young woman looking at the cleanup and construction adds, “Every year that the trees bloom, they’ll give us the courage to keep going.”

In addition to its Oscar nomination, ‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’ received the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hamptons International Film Festival and BFI London.

‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’ was directed by Lucy Walker with executive producers Tim Case and Charles V. Salice and producers Kira Carstensen and Lucy Walker. The director of photography was Aaron Phillips, the editor was Aki Mizutani, and the music was produced by Moby.

Image Courtesy of   Kasper Nybo

The article HBO Presents Documentary about Japanese Tsunami appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The earthquake and tsunami that destroyed parts of eastern Japan in March 2011 washed vast amounts of debris into the Pacific Ocean. The buoyant portion of that debris is making its way toward the US. Based on models, first landfall of the debris could occur in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) — designated as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument by President George W. Bush — as early as January/February 2012.

A free 90-minute webinar this Monday, Dec. 12, will examine how US and Hawaiian resource managers and partners are preparing for impacts of the tsunami debris on the NWHI ecosystem, which includes Midway Atoll. A webinar is a Web-based seminar that allows the public to interact directly with panelists via computer or phone.

The webinar “Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris: Anticipating and Mitigating Its Impacts on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands” starts at 10 am Hawaii time (noon Pacific; 3 pm Eastern), and is open to the media and public. To register, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/864409841

The NWHI are home to 23 endangered or threatened species including the Hawaiian monk seal and several sea turtle species. The ecosystem also provides habitat for 14 million sea birds.

Lessons from the NWHI tsunami debris response, including on the nature and quantity of debris encountered, will inform responses when the debris eventually reaches the US West Coast, expected in 2013.

Panelists for the webinar will include:

• Carey Morishige, Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator, NOAA Marine Debris Program
• Ray Born, US Fish and Wildlife Service Permit Manager, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
• David Swatland, NOAA Deputy Superintendent, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
• Scott Godwin, NOAA Resource Protection Specialist, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
• Andrea Neal, President, Blue Ocean Sciences; and Administrator, Digital Ocean Collaborative on Marine Debris

The webinar is hosted by Marine Affairs Research and Education, or MARE. MARE is founder of the MarineDebris.Info online discussion forum and also publishes the newsletter MPA News on marine protected areas.

Co-hosting the webinar are Blue Ocean Sciences and the EBM Tools Network.

The article Japanese Tsunami Debris Expected to Reach Hawaii appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.