Purdue to screen Japanese film subtitled by students
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A documentary about last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan will be screened at Purdue University, and the students who subtitled the film also will discuss their experiences working on the project.
"Kyo-o mamoru" (Protecting Today) will be screened at 7 p.m. April 13 in Wetherill Hall, Room 200. The film was presented at the Yamanashi Film Festival in 2011 and has been shown throughout Japan. This is the first screening for the English-subtitled version.
The event is free and open to the public and also will feature a question-and-answer session with the director and producer, Yuka Kan'no, via Skype from Japan. Five Purdue students who worked on the subtitling project and recently visited Japan also will speak.
"The documentary Ms. Kan'no created after last year's tragedy was unique because she was able to bring out insights that only a person who shared the same experience could do, and it was well-received in Japan," said Kazumi Hatasa, a professor of Japanese who also will present at the event. "I proposed the subtitling project so people in English-speaking countries could view this wonderful film. The project also became a learning experience by giving 60 students from 12 different schools in the United States and Japan an opportunity to engage their language skills."
Seventeen students from Purdue participated, and five of these students were selected to travel to Japan in March to learn about its culture and witness recovery efforts after the catastrophe. The study abroad program was sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
More information about the English subtitle project is available at https://tell.fll.purdue.edu/hatasa/protect-today/index-e.html
Purdue professor Atsushi Fukada also provided technical assistance for the project.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Kazumi Hatasa, 765-494-3846, khatasa@purdue.edu
Atsushi Fukada, afukada@purdue.edu