Justice for All:Tackling Nukes and Climate Change

Dear Friends,

We would like to thank you for supporting this initiative. In the spring, we convened a special discussion at the Prospect Hill Foundation, where Dr.Vincent Intondi presented his book entitled "Saving the World from Nuclear War: The June 12, 1982, Disarmament Rally and Beyond." Additionally, we interviewed him for our special documentary entitled Shades of Disarmament. We also interviewed a promient activist for this film.

Additionally, on 24 July 2023, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Reverse The Trend, Peace Boat US, Hibakusha Stories, Puffin Foundation, The Prospect Hill Foundation, and Lush Cosmetics, hosted “Shades of Disarmament”, a film festival featuring three impactful forms of media visualizing and displaying the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, as well as the greater disarmament movement. The event took place at the Scandinavia House located at 58 Park Avenue in New York.

The first film presented, “The Vow From Hiroshima”, is a portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor who was only thirteen years old when the bomb was dropped. Her moving story is told through the lens of her growing friendship with a second-generation survivor, Mitchie Takeuchi.

The second film presented, “In Our Hands”, is a comprehensive documentary featuring candid shots and interviews of those involved with the 1982 March and Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, in which over 1 million participants made their voices heard all throughout New York. 

Lastly, the trailer for “Shades of Disarmament”, after which the festival was named, was presented. “Shades of Disarmament” is an intergenerational film about the 1982 March and Rally. Featuring interviews with leading activists, Shades of Disarmament focuses on the necessity of including diverse voices - many of whom were marginalized during the march and rally - in the disarmament movement. Jeremiah Williams and Sajani Patel conducted the interviews. Julian Archer served as our cinematographer and Liam Broderick served as our creative consultant.  

Throughout those screenings, an interactive VR experience titled “On The Morning You Wake”, was presented outside of the theater. This interactive VR experience allowed participants to experience the 38 minutes the people of Hawaii lived under the threat of nuclear attack as the result of a false alarm.

Following the screenings, a panel discussion featuring several esteemed activists, as well as the producers of the films, was held. Panelists included Dr. Ivana Nikolic Hughes, President of the NAPF and a Senior Lecturer of Chemistry at Columbia University; Susan Stricker, Director and Producer of “The Vow from Hiroshima”, and Mitchie Takeuchi, Writer and Producer of the film “The Vow From Hiroshima” and granddaughter of the founding President of the Hiroshima Red Cross; Michaela Ternasky-Holland, Senior Creative Strategist and Impact Producer of the Film “On The Morning You Wake;” Jeremiah Williams, RTT youth activist and interviewer for the short film “Shades of Disarmament;” and Seth Shelden, the UN Liaison for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Panelists discussed the merits of the current nuclear disarmament movement, steps going forward, and their own personal experiences regarding the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. Around forty audience members listened to their insights following the screenings, and joined for a reception held upstairs. The event was well received, with many audience members commending the panelists, as well as Reverse The Trend for facilitating an enjoyable and insightful learning experience. 

Links:

• Trailer, Shades of Disarmament
• Our Webpage about the Film Festival

Dear All,

We would like to thank you for supporting us!

Reverse the Trend’s (RTT) youth team has collaborated on research regarding the 1982 rally and composed a short summary of the history and significance of the nuclear disarmament movement and the importance of the rally. This research will be incorporated as a short introduction of the documentary in order to provide the audience context regarding the issue’s history. RTT has also secured a cinematographer, editor, and audio visual manager for the project. 

As of now we have 3 interviewees who have elected to be featured in the documentary, all of whom have made tremendous strides in their activism efforts since the rally to this day. RTT has also acquired permission to use footage from the original rally. The footage will be used to juxtapose the anti-nuclear movement in 1982 to the present in order to demonstrate the importance of educating and raising awareness amongst New Yorkers in order to facilitate mobilization as well as highlight why the inclusion of marginalized communities in the movement is important to addressing the intersectionality of the issue.

The filming of the interviews will take place in the coming months. 

A trailer of the documentary is projected to be released in February 2023.

We would greatly appreciate it fi you could continue to support us!

All the best!

Sincerely,

Christian 

Links:

• Information about Our Cinematographer
• The March for Disarmament