ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 considers the anti-nuclear themes that are treated within documentary films. Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, a countless number of documentary films on nuclear power were produced. This chapter limits the scope to considering directors such as Kamanaka Hitomi, Funahashi Jun, Sōda Kazuhiro, Iwai Shunji, Mori Tatsuya, and Matsubayashi Yōju, who produced works that were either highly regarded or seen as problematic. A principle concern here is to identify the manner in which the specific genre of the documentary film critically and stylistically engages with the topic of nuclear power. The author suggests that there are three broad characteristics which we can identify when considering post-Fukushima documentary films. First, there are works which show a concrete commitment to a region, and a close connection with civic movements through independent screening events. Kamanaka’s films are representative of this approach. Second, there are works which are highly conscious of documentary films as a medium, or which seek to explore their expressive potential. Films by Funahashi and Sōda belong to this category. Third, there are works which engage in an essential and self-referential thematization of the nature of visual media. Amongst such films, we would include those by Mori and Matsubayashi.
