BS12
satellite channel TwellV has announced that its emotional 2024 documentary titled Hadaashi
no Gen no Netsudendō ~Genbaku Manga o Tsutaeru Hitobito~ will be
adapted into a film format. The new version will be titled Hadaashi no
Gen wa Mada Okotteiru (in English, Gen the Barefoot Is Still
Angry) and will be released in November in select theaters in Japan,
including the Pole Pole Higashinakano Theater in Tokyo and
the Salon Cinema in Hiroshima.
Documentary
that honors memory and activism
The
original version of the documentary aired in September 2024 and focused on the
people who continue to share the message of the Hadaashi no Gen manga
and preserve its powerful legacy. The production was recognized with the Media
Ambitious Award in the screen category and also received the award
for Best Documentary at the 15th Japan Satellite
Broadcasting Association Awards.
The film
will be directed, planned and edited by Seitoku Iriyama, who was
already in charge of the original documentary. It is hoped that this adaptation
will reinforce the message of peace and historical memory that so characterized
the work of Keiji Nakazawa.
The
Legacy of Gen the Barefoot by Keiji Nakazawa
The manga
Barefoot Gen, created by Keiji Nakazawa, is a deeply
autobiographical work that narrates the horrors experienced after the atomic
bombing of Hiroshima. Nakazawa, born in 1939 in that city, survived the
explosion of August 6, 1945 when he was just 6 years old. Tragedy took away her
father, her older sister and two younger brothers. Only he, his mother and two
of his siblings who were not home that day managed to survive.
Since its
publication, Gen's story has been adapted into two animated films and a
television drama in Japan. The manga has also been published in North America
by Last Gasp Publishing, which has also published other works by
Nakazawa such as I Can't Forget the Bomb and I Saw It
(Ore wa Mita), the latter reissued in April 2023.
