The film will be screened in Japan from August 20. (Photo: Japan Times)Hanoi (VNA) – A documentary entitled “Long Time Passing” featuring a victimof Agent Orange (AO) living in Vietnam will be available in theatres in Tokyo from August 20.
The film by Japanese director Masako Sakata depicts the daily life of TranThi Hoan, a young woman born without legs and one of her hands as her motherhad been exposed to the toxic chemical in a field during her pregnancy. It also featuresthe difficulty of many other AO victims and a court battle in France by aformer journalist against US chemical firms that manufactured AO used in the war.
Sakata went to Vietnam in 2004 to learn about the consequences of the toxic chemical and made the first film on the matter.
Her husband died nearly two decades ago as a result of his exposure to the AO during military service in Vietnam.
Sakata has made two documentaries on AO, My Personal Requiem in2007 and Living the Silent Spring in 2011, which havebeen shown in many countries such as the US, France, Japan, and Canada.
My PersonalRequiem showedthe debilitating effects of the toxic chemical on the human body that lasts forgenerations and how the Vietnamese have struggled to support victims. The film won several prizes, including the Mainichi documentaryfilm award, the Paris International Environment Film Festival’s Special Prize, and the Earth Vision special jury award.
Living theSilent Spring is aboutthe dangers chemical agents pose to humanity. In it, children of war veteransand their struggles with disability are explored, according to The Mainichi newspaper.
Sakataestablished the "Seeds of Hope" project to provide hundreds ofscholarships to Vietnamese high school and university students who are AOvictims.
In 2017, she received a Friendship Order from the President in recognition of her contribution to the movement “Action for the victims ofAgent Orange in Vietnam”./.
