Japanese earthquake and tsunami films
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 were filmed extensively as they were happening. Now, dramatised versions of the devastation are garnering mixed reviews, writes Mark Schilling
The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, was one of the most intensely covered natural disasters in history. Within half an hour after the 9.0 magnitude quake hit the northern Tohoku region, public broadcaster NHK had helicopters in the air, filming the huge tsunami that swept the coast and left nearly 19,000 people missing or dead and forced some 340,000 victims to evacuate.
After that, reporting by the national and foreign media was extensive and continuous, including coverage of the explosions from meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In their collaborative documentary 311, however, Tatsuya Mori, Yojyu Matsubayashi, Takeharu Watai and Takaharu Yoshioka violated the unwritten taboo against filming the dead, incurring the anger of survivors on the scene
Japanese filmmakers also reacted quickly to the disaster - but their angle of approach often differed from that of the local mass media, which tended to follow the government line, while taking care never to show the bodies of victims. In their collaborative documentary 311, however, Tatsuya Mori, Yojyu Matsubayashi, Takeharu Watai and Takaharu Yoshioka violated the unwritten taboo against filming the dead, incurring the anger of survivors on the scene.
They were also criticised for what some saw as insensitivity.
The many 3/11 documentaries - the 2011 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival screened 29 and more have appeared since - have had varied takes on the disaster. For example, American filmmaker Stu Levy's Pray for Japan (2012), whose coverage is based on his own experiences as a disaster volunteer, is determinedly non-political. "It's the story of unknown heroes," he says on the film's website.