Le documentaire Les sœurs de Nagasaki

Le documentaire « Les soeurs de Nagasaki » réalisé par Alain Vézina et produit par Merlin Films est le récipiendaire d’un prix spécial de reconnaissance décerné par le jury de la 9e édition du International Uranium Film Festival. Le film a été présenté au prestigieux cinéma du Musée d’Art moderne de Rio de Janeiro.

Press Release: Filmmaker from Quebec receive special recognition for his documentary movie about the Catholic nuns who survived the Atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki, 74 years ago.

August 9, 2019, marks the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. A good day to announce that the International Uranium Film Festival 2019 has given a Special Recognition to the documentary THE SISTERS OF NAGASAKI by Alain Vézina from Quebec.  
„With unique archive footage Alain Vézina skillfully tells of an extraordinary story about atomic bomb victims and survivers (Hibakusha) that has not yet been told“, writes the festival’s jury. „We screened the film last May during our 9th International Uranium Film Festival in the cinema of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Modern Art Museum, and the selected audience was very impressed by the movie“, added festival director Norbert G. Suchanek.
THE SISTERS OF NAGASAKI tells the true story of eight Catholic nuns from Quebec who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Alain Vézina: “It's a subject that has been in my head for a number of years, but I always differed from it, I had other projects. But it's a beautiful subject, it's a story that deserves to be told“, says Alain Vézina. It took him two years to research and finalize the film. „Initially there were just a dozen photographs, no more." Finally he receives a response, from a 98 year old nun, who is in possession of photo albums that virtually nobody has ever seen.
THE SISTERS OF NAGASAKI (Les sœurs de Nagasaki), Canada, 2018, Director: Producer: Merlin Films, 52 min, French, English subtitles, Trailer: https://vimeo.com/288512291, Distribution: HG Distribution, https://hgagnondistribution.com/en/titles/new-releases/sisters-nagasaki
Synopsis: On August 9th, 1945, an atomic bomb explodes over Nagasaki. Held prisoner by the Japanese, a small group of Catholic missionaries, including many Canadians, survive the bombing. By forcing Japan to surrender, the bomb freed these women, yet jailed them in a prison of the mind through their traumatic memories of this nuclear holocaust. Some of these nuns put down in writing the grueling tale of their captivity and its horrifying conclusion. These precious documents, many of which have never before been released, show us that the prisoners not only witnessed the devastation caused by the bomb, but also intervened to help the survivors, especially the children. Many years later, some of the Canadian nuns succumbed to the long-term effects of radiation exposure, thereby joining the ranks of the 74,000 victims of Nagasaki.
The International Uranium Film Festival is the only annual film festival that highlights all nuclear and radioactive issues: nuclear fuel chain, uranium mining, atomic bombs, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste & nuclear accidents: from Hiroshima to Fukushima. The first Uranium Film Festival was held May 2011 in Rio de Janeiro. Since that it became a global event, with festival screenings around the globe.
However the Uranium Film Festival has no big sponsors from the industry. It depends mainly on donations by concerned people. For that we kindly ask for your support. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 2000 atmospheric atomic bomb tests and their consequences, uranium mining and contamination, nuclear or radioactive accidents like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Goiânia or Fukushima shall never be forgotten nor repeated. We welcome any donation!
International Uranium Film Festival
CEP 20240-195   /  Brasil