【funding needed】A Fukushima born artist journeys into Japan’s nuclear winter revealing the warmth and strength of survivors coping with the fallout via Kickstarter

The film: When the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant began to unfold Fukushima native Shimpei Takeda had been living in New York for 10 years working as a visual artist. As he began to understand what was happening to his birthplace a deeper need awoke in him which compelled him to speak beyond his personal art and address the unfolding nuclear calamity that was engulfing his home. Once in Fukushima cpm-703 provides an in-depth portrait into the lives of a population living under the constant threat of radiation.
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A Note From the Director

Last August I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Fukushima while filming the initial scenes for cpm-703. During my time there I lived in a small room on a mountain peak that overlooked the rice fields (now barren) that Fukushima is famous for. Gazing over the vista I felt a personal connection to the land owing to Japanese landscape art that has been in my life from an early age.

Making a documentary with Shimpei as a main character was the perfect way to tell the narrative of what was lost to the meltdown. At first glance Shimpei’s work is abstract. When he showed me what he was doing in his darkroom in New York I thought I was looking into the night sky, a portrait of our milky way. When the realization came that I was actually looking at a cameraless photograph of the soil of his ancestors I thought about all of the Japanese influences in my own life and how his art he connected me to them. Through his personal journey I have embarked on my own. This film fuses those together and introduces us to a community whit tremendous strength and heart. When I return to Japan this week I will focus again on them, sending frequent updates here…..so please stay tuned.
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This project will only be funded if at least $12,000 is pledged by Wednesday Nov 21, 2:06pm EST.

All funds will go directly to the production of cpm-703

· Translation

· Editing

· Score

· Sound mix

· Color correction

· Transportation to and within Japan

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