The 25th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival will feature films sponsored by the Hot Springs Sister City Foundation beginning at 6:20 p.m. on Monday evening, October 10 at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa. Students will be admitted free of charge to the following three films being sponsored by the Foundation.
Journey to Japan
Directed by HSNP Sister City Foundation Board member Kye Masino | USA | 10 min
A group of American teenagers travel halfway around the world, sharing insights as they are fully immersed into another culture through the Sister City Program linking Hot Springs, Arkansas with Hanamaki, Japan.
Paper Lanterns
Directed by Barry Frechette | USA | 60 min | SOUTHEAST REGION PREMIERE
On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, Japan. A little known fact is that the estimated 140,000 casualties of that day included 12 American prisoners of war. For decades, many of the families of these 12 Americans were never informed of the fates of their loved ones. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Mr. Shigeaki Mori, himself a hibakusha (A-bomb survivor), the names of these 12 are now included in the Hiroshima Peace Museum, and the relatives have learned the truth. Paper Lanterns documents the story of Mr. Mori and his dream of reaching out to the relatives of these lost U.S. airmen.
Kampai!: For the Love of Sake
Directed by Mirai Konishi | Japan/USA | 95 min | English and Japanese with English subtitles
Discover the art of sake. An age-old staple of Japanese culture and cuisine, the fermented rice wine has recently been winning fans all over the world. Kampai! For the Love of Sake journeys from rice paddies in Japan to breweries around the globe as it chronicles three passionate proponents of the increasingly popular beverage: a British ex-pat who has become Japan's first foreign master brewer; an American journalist known as the “Sake Evangelist;” and a fifth-generation Japanese brewer determined to shake up the industry. Together, their stories form a fascinating snapshot of how ancient traditions are adapting to the demands of a growing global market. Mr. Kosuke Kuji, president of Nanbu Bijin Sake Brewery, is featured in the film along with his brewery, located in Iwate Prefecture, near Hanamaki, Hot Springs’ sister city. A question and answer session and sake “kampai” will be hosted by Ben Bell, the young man who just returned from a two-year internship at Nanbu Bijin and plans to build a sake brewery in Hot Springs.
Please join us for this evening of Sister City films. For more information about them, or about others being shown at the 25th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, visit www.hsdfi.org .