Papier als Kunst, Papier als Kriegswaffe (2): Bomben auf Flügeln aus Papier; im Zweiten Weltkrieg: die Angriffswelle Japans auf die Westküste der USA

Film-Nr.: 132
Vorführungstermin: Mittwoch, 12. August 2009, 21 Uhr (Hauptfilm) — [VN13]
Themenschwerpunkt: Heilung als kultureller und sozialer Prozess (2) | Japan-USA (2) | Papier als Kunst, Papier als Kriegswaffe (2)

Englischer Titel: On Paper Wings
Originaltitel: On Paper Wings
Deutscher Titel: Auf Flügeln aus Papier
Herkunft: USA 2008
Laufzeit: 67 min
Sprachfassung: Englisch-Japanische Originalfassung mit englischen Untertiteln

Regie: Ilana Sol
Produzent: Ilana Sol
Schnitt: Kate Schoninger, Michael Gandsey (sound)
Kamera:
Musik: Eric Schopmeyer, Peter Broderick, Tara Jane O'Neil
Produktion:

URL Film-Homepage: http://www.onpaperwingsthemovie.com
Premierenstatus: Europäische Erstaufführung
Bisherige Aufführungen: Salem Film Festival, WINNER: NW Emerging Artst Award, Best Feature, Salem, Oregon, USA; Kent Film Festival, WINNER: Best Documentary Film, Kent, Connecticut, USA, North America PREMIERE; Northwest Film and Video Festival, WINNER: Audience Award for Best Feature, Portland, Oregon, USA; Red Rock Film Festival, Springdale, Utah, USA; Girlfest Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Tacoma Film Festival, WINNER: Best Documentary Film, Tacoma, Washington, USA; Astoria International Film Festival, WINNER: Best Regional Film, Astoria, Oregon, USA; Port Townsend Film Festival, Port Townsend, Washington, USA; New York Peace Film Festival, New York City, USA; Washougal International Film Festival, Winner of Spirit Award, Washougal, Washington, USA.

Kurzinhalt: In der Spätphase des Zweiten Weltkriegs startete Japan eine Angriffswelle mit Flugbomben, die durch Papierballons mit dem Luftstrom an die Westküste der USA getragen wurden. Der Film berichtet von den Hintergründen und Wirkungen dieses kaum bekannten Kriegseinsatzes.



Englische Synopsis: In 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb claimed the lives of the only people killed on the continental U.S. as the result of enemy action during WWII. Forty years later, the decision to fold a thousand paper cranes would unite the Japanese and American civilians affected by this incident.

Englische Werkbeschreibung: During WWII, the Japanese military developed a new weapon intended to strike directly at the American continent – the balloon bomb. High school girls across Japan were conscripted into factories where they built thousands of balloons made of paper. These balloons were then attached to bombs and launched into the jet stream to drift toward North America. On May 5th, 1945, a pastor, his pregnant wife, and five children departed on a picnic in Southern Oregon. When they found an un-detonated balloon bomb, the device exploded, killing the pastor’s wife and all five children. They became the only people killed on the continental U.S. as the result of enemy action during WWII. Forty years later, a Japanese American man who had spent his wartime years in an internment camp found out about these deaths. He knew several women in Japan who as young girls had been forced to work on the balloon bombs, and the news of these deaths shocked and saddened them. These women decided to fold a thousand paper cranes to offer to the families of those killed in Oregon, and the groups eventually all met face to face. The friendships formed since have helped citizens on both sides of the Pacific cope with the tragedies they experienced during WWII. This is the story of four Japanese women who worked on balloon bombs, the families of those killed in Oregon, and the man whose actions brought them all together forty years after WWII, and the balloon bomb project.

Director's Bio: Ilana Sol is a filmmaker who lives and works in Portland, Oregon (USA). She has worked in the film industry for twelve years on a variety of independent, educational and commercial projects. When her hobby of historical research led her to find out about the Japanese balloon bombs, she soon found herself spending hundreds of hours researching these bizarre weapons, and traveling thousands of miles to meet with those affected by them. Truth is often stranger than fiction, and this has solidified her love of documentary filmmaking. She is the recipient of grants from the Oregon Council for the Humanities, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and the Oregon Heritage Commission. “On Paper Wings” is her first film.



GLOBIANS DOC FEST BERLIN
August 12 - 17, 2009
Kino Toni, Antonplatz