AREKARA
La Vie Après
The Life After

[documentary, '16, 2013]

Production: Momoko Seto
co-production: Ecce Films
Director: Momoko Seto
Editor: Momoko Seto & Nicolas Sarkissian
Sound: Quentin Degy

[casting]

Kôichi Nakazato
Shigetsugu Gotô
Sumiko Abe
Yûji Ishimori
Hiroko Utsumi

[Summary]

Five testimonies of an apocalyptic and surreal event.

[Statement]

In February 2012, I went to Ishinomaki, a town North of Tokyo which was half destroyed by the tsu- nami of March 11th, 2011, to meet the disaster victims who now live in temporary housing. I spent several days in the North, under the snow, listening to these people talk candidly about what they had lived through, telling their own stories without the media as an intermediary. Their testimonies were terrifying, harsh and sad, but at the same time touching, sincere and human. From the pictures and interviews that I collected, I decided to make a film, not to reflect how awful the events were, but to communicate the singular and even surreal nature of each person’s experience. My intention wasn’t so much to focus on this particular event in Japan, but rather to make these stories more universal as a way of paying tribute to all the victims of natural disasters throughout the world.

Shooting Format: HD
Projection Format: DCP
Sound Format: Stereo

[Screening & Festival]

Festival International de film d'environnement, Paris [fr], feb 19-26th 2013

Festival Côté Court Pantin [fr], june 5-15th 2013

Ecce Films Program, Le Grand action Paris [fr], june 20th 2013

Festival Paris Cinéma, Paris [fr], june 28th - july 9th 2013

FEMINA - International Women's Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro [br], July 16-28th 2013

7th International Film Festival Kratkofil, Banjaluka [Bosnia and Herzegovina], July 24-28th 2013

Festival Elles Tournent, Bruxelles [be], sept 26-29th 2013

Melbourne Environment Film Festival [au], sept 5-13th 2013

7th Ânûû-rû âboro Festival International du cinéma des peuples [New Caledonia], oct 18-26th 2013

International Short Film Festival Winterthur [ch], nov 5-10th 2013

27ème Festival A NOUS DE VOIR – Cinéma et Sciences, Oullins [fr], nov 21st - dec 1st 2013

Festival du film de Vendôme [fr] dec 6th-13th 2013

Exhibition "Invisible Cities – moving images from Asia" Dallas Contemporary, Crow Museum, Dallas Texas [USA] 30th Sep to 23rd Dec 2017.
Curators: Hitomi Hasegawa (MIACA), Lilia Kudelia (Dallas Contemporary)

Festival de Brie Comte Robert [fr], April 22-23th 2018

dotdotdot - Open-Air Short Film Festival, Vienna [au], July 31st - August 30th 2019

VIS Special screening "DIE NATUR UND WIR. EIN (HIMBEER-) DESASTER", Vienna [au], Nov 29th 2019

Masterclass at Anifilm, International Festival of Animated Films, Liberec [CZ], June 26th 2021

[Awards]

BEST DOCUMENTARY at 7th International Film Festival Kratkofil, Banjaluka [Bosnia and Herzegovina]

BEST SHORT FILM at 7th Ânûû-rû âboro Festival International du cinéma des peuples [New Caledonia]

Grand Prix Festivals Connexion at 27ème édition du Festival A NOUS DE VOIR, Oullins [fr]

PRIX de Qualité, CNC 2014 [fr]

[TV Broadcast]

FRANCE 3, 2015

Nov 7th 2016 : France 3 - Libre court

July 20th 2018 : France 3 - Libre court, "L’Homme contre nature"