The memories of those who lived through the centenary and witnessed the bombing of Hiroshima transcend the boundaries of time, place and language, but they take a sensitive and poetic form in the short film “Alma Erant – Hibakusha”. The documentary delves into the imagination of Takashi Morita, an atomic bomb survivor, former Japanese Imperial Guard soldier and peace activist, who died in Brazil in 2024, aged 100. The production, directed by director Joel Yamaji, made its international debut at the 26th San Diego Asian Film Festival, in California, on Sunday (9).
Clyde Cloke, RFI correspondent in Los Angeles
The project began nearly three decades ago, when the director met the Morita family in São Paulo in 1996. Since then, Yamaji collected hours of photographs and testimonials until he found the look he wanted. The film is more than just a historical record, it is a visual poem.
“I didn’t want to explore suffering as a spectacle,” says the director. “I wanted a film about peace, about those who go through war and continue in it. It’s about overcoming it.”
Yamaji defines a short film as a work that goes beyond the traditional documentary, blending generations into a metaphor for coexistence.
“I always think poetry in cinema is necessary, especially in a world at war,” Yamaji says. “Mr. Takashi has always advocated peace, so he wanted to make a film that was a poem and not a condemnation.”
Heritage of memory and message of peace
Mr. Takashi’s daughter, Yasuko Morita, came to San Diego to perform “Wandering Soul – Hibakusha.” It follows the course of the film, the legacy and memories of the parents she has heard since she was a child, both Hiroshima survivors.
“In addition to being a very close couple, they shared the same memory. My brother and I grew up listening to these stories. They were victims of the same tragedy, but they shared hope. My father never spoke ill of anyone. When they asked him if he was angry with us, Yasuko said, “No. “I’m angry about the war.”
She also recalled that her father devoted his life to peace campaigns and the Atomic Bomb Survivors Association of Brazil, which he created to ensure medical assistance and promote awareness campaigns.
She said: “Our campaigns for peace have always targeted young people, so that they understand that the atomic bomb cannot go hand in hand with humanity. My father said: Hiroshima was the first. Nagasaki must be the last.”
Yasuko reinforces the symbolism of now bringing the film to the United States, the country that dropped the nuclear bomb and where President Donald Trump spoke a few days ago of returning to nuclear testing. She remembers the last conversation she had with her father.
“My father’s last words before he died really touched me. He said: ‘We didn’t do enough, look at the way the world is now.’ I said: ‘But you did your best. The rest must be left to others to carry on the work.” Two months after his death, an organization of survivors from Japan, with whom we had many contacts, received the Nobel Peace Prize. “Daddy, I thought you would be very proud!” he concludes.
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