Director focus:

Yuko Ishida

石田優子

Born in Tokyo in 1978, Yuko Ishida studied at the Film School of Tokyo under the documentary filmmaker Makoto Sato. She then joined the film production and distribution company Siglo, Ltd. She worked on the production staff for Japan’s Peace Constitution (dir. John Junkerman), All Around Us (dir. Ryosuke Hashiguchi), and Wandering Home (dir. Yoichi Higashi). She was assistant director on Makoto Sato’s Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said and editor of a series of oral histories of World War II and the atomic bombings. This is Ishida’s first film as director.

 

 

Available from Zakka Films:

Barefoot Gen’s Hiroshima

Barefoot Gen's Hiroshima (Yuko Ishida) from Zakka Films Total running time: Approx. 77 min. / color

“Through my story, I hope viewers will come to feel closer to a world without war and nuclear weapons. Please ponder that possibility as you watch this film.”—Keiji Nakazawa With the passing of Nakazawa Keiji in December 2012, Barefoot Gen’s Hiroshima now stands as the manga artist’s last message of peace to the world. Mr. Nakazawa recounts his life, from the aftermath of the atomic bombing up until the days he created his acclaimed manga series Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen), by exploring sites of painful memories in Hiroshima. Through Mr. Nakazawa’s story, and his original art work, Barefoot Gen’s Hiroshima illuminates the nature of war and nuclear weapons, urging us not to repeat the past.