The Pare Lorentz
Film Center at the
FDR Presidential Library
and the Gillespie Forum
present a film screening
and discussion of the
award-winning documentary film
THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA
Sunday, August 11, 2024 at 2PM
in the Wallace Center at the
FDR Presidential Library and Home
HYDE PARK, NY -- The Pare Lorentz Film Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Gillespie Forum will host a screening of the award-winning documentary film, THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 11, 2024, in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. A question-and-answer session with filmmakers Susan Strickler and Mitchie Takeuchi will follow the screening. This is a free public event, but registration is required. CLICK HERE to register.
Synopsis:
THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is a poignant documentary that delves into the life of Setsuko Thurlow, a remarkable survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. At just 13 years old when the bomb devastated her city in 1945, Setsuko's harrowing experience is vividly captured in this intimate portrait. The film chronicles her enduring friendship with second-generation survivor Mitchie Takeuchi, offering a moving narrative of resilience and determination.
Setsuko's story is one of tragedy and triumph, as she recalls being pulled from a burning building after the bomb's impact, unable to save her 27 classmates who perished in the flames. This pivotal moment shaped her lifelong commitment to ensuring that no one else would suffer the same horrific fate.
Through decades of tireless activism, Setsuko's journey culminates in a powerful milestone -- the realization of her dream with the establishment of a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Setsuko made the acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway.
Susan Strickler has directed over 700 hours of daytime television for The Young and the Restless, Guiding Light and Another World. She won a DGA Best Director Award and a Daytime Emmy Award. THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is her first documentary film. The film won the Audience Award at Ojai Film Festival and BEST FEMALE FILMMAKER DOCUMENTARY at Reading FilmFest. Currently, THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is being broadcast on Public Television and is shown in high schools, colleges and community groups around the country. In Japan, the film has been widely released in 19 cities and appeared on Wowow TV.
Mitchie Takeuchi is originally from Hiroshima and a long time New York City resident. She has been a social entrepreneur, a writer and a filmmaker. Her grandfather, Dr. Ken Takeuchi, was the director of the Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima when the city was leveled by the first use of an atomic bomb and he and her mother, Takako, survived. Wanting to share what really happened under the mushroom cloud, Mitchie produced and co-wrote THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA, interweaving the life story of Hiroshima survivor and activist Setsuko Thurlow, intergenerational activism and the historic negotiations of The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. After the film had a successful year-long theatrical run in 19 cities in Japan, Mitchie received the 2021 Japan Film Renaissance Conference Peace Film Award.
Please contact Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745 with questions about the display.
