Things Left Behind
“Gently pressing out the creases on a blouse long folded up, I bring it into the light of the sun shining through a window. For an instant, the polka dots and floral patterns shimmer and the woman who once wore it rises…” — Ishiuchi Miyako
Linda Hoaglund’s documentary film Things Left Behind is showing in Hiroshima for two weeks from August 3. The film is subtitled in Japanese and English.
Film director, Linda Hoaglund grew up in Yamaguchi Prefecture and her retelling of how she felt when her elementary school teacher wrote the words “Hiroshima” and “America” on the blackboard in a recent JapanTimes article made me think of my own kids now attending a Japanese elementary school here in Hiroshima, and I’m sure it’s a story that will resonate with many local international families. I urge you to read the full article as it is inspiring how Hoaglund internalized this experience and made it her “personal mission as “an American” to mourn and atone for WWII and the A-bombs” through her work in film.
Things Left Behind looks at “Hiroshima” through the exhibition of 48 photographs of articles of clothing once worn by victims of the A-bomb blast taken by Japanese photographer Ishisuchi Miyako, and through the reactions of people from around the world viewing them.
Read more about the film and Hoaglund’s background on the JapanTimes
Photographers Tomatsu Shomei and Ishisuchi Miyako talk about their work related to Hiroshima and Nagasaki (subtitled in English)
NHK film on Ishisuchi Miyako’s HIROSHIMA exhibition (2 parts) – no English subtitles but click on captions to get Japanese text
Things Left Behind is showing at Haccho-za August 3-9 at 16:40, and at Cinetwin Hondori August 10-16 at 10:30
80 minutes, Subtitled in Japanese and English
Admission is ¥1500 for adults and ¥1300 for students
