SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 
World renown disaster response expert, Gisli Olafsson to speak at Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Remembrance Event. Olafsson is the Emergency Response Director of NetHope and author of “The Crisis Leader,” and is considered as a disaster experts, expert. Gisli has over 15 years of experience in the field of disaster management, and is the Emergency Response Director of NetHope, an organization that uses information communication technology to help humanitarian organizations like the United Nations, International Federation of Red Cross, World Bank, USAID and NATO respond to natural and human-caused disasters. http://youtu.be/c3FmozRenhE Gisli is a member of the UN’s Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, a team of experienced disaster managers that can deploy anywhere in the world on 6-hours notice to coordinate the first response of the international community to disasters on behalf of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Gisli was a team leader for Iceland’s international Urban Search and Rescue team (ICE-SAR) after the Haiti Earthquake in 2010 and has served as part of Iceland’s National Search and Rescue Command. Locally, Gisli was a lead member of King County’s Emergency Operation Centre’s Support team and took part in coordinating over 100 disaster management and SAR incidents. In recent years Gisli has participated in disaster field missions in connections with floods in Ghana (2007), Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (2008), Hurricane Ike in Texas (2008), Sichuan Earthquake (2008), Pandemic Outbreak (2009), West Sumatra Earthquake (2009), Haiti Earthquake (2010), Japan Earthquake/Tsunami (2011) and Horn of Africa famine (2011).
Three Years After Fukushima: Lessons Learned
Tickets still available for the Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Remembrance Event at Wing Luke Museum.
To Buy Tickets, Click Here
Tuesday, March 11, 2014, marks the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit the Tōhoku-Oki region of Japan, resulting in one of the deadliest and most destructive disasters in the country’s history. The environmental, social, and economic impacts of this historic catastrophe will be felt for decades. We have teamed up with KING 5 television news anchor Lori Matsukawa to host an event showcasing the creative works of three critically acclaimed Pacific Northwest artists who are using the power of film, music, and social media to commemorate the ongoing crisis and celebrate the resiliency of the Japanese people.
Featured artists:
Echo at Satsop, a short film by Etsuko Ichikawa, was filmed at the abandoned Satsop nuclear facility near Aberdeen, Wash. Born in Tokyo and a Seattle resident since 1993, Ichikawa was inspired by the emotional juxtaposition between ethereality and fear that she experienced while being in the Satsop cooling tower, and by the amazing acoustic property of the space, where the sound created by simply clapping one’s hands becomes an emotional experience.
Buckman Coe, recently voted second-best unsigned band in the Vancouver (B.C.) weekly Georgia Straight’s reader’s choice contest, is a soul, folk and reggae artist whose lyrics show a keen understanding of human emotion and reflect a Zen-like calm and inner peace. Coe will perform a collection of songs including “Stars Over Tokyo,” a soulful and emotional tribute to the residents of Tokyo in the aftermath of the Great Tōhoku Earthquake.
Reactor, a documentary film by Canadian media activist and filmmaker Ian MacKenzie, is a meditative, deliberate, powerful half-hour glimpse into the world of post-Fukushima Japan. Choosing not to dwell on the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami three years ago — and the subsequent nuclear catastrophe that has supplanted Chernobyl as the worst disaster of the Atomic Age — Reactor is about the response, as the initial shock fades and long-term repercussions and a new reality permeate the nation’s consciousness.
WHERE: Wing Luke Museum (Tateuchi Theater), 719 S. King St., Seattle
HOW: To Buy Tickets
Appetizers, refreshments, and dessert provided by City Fish in the Pike Place Market, Shen Zen Tea, Mashiko Japanese restaurant, and Pink’s Ice Cream.
GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI REMEMBRANCE EVENT
SEATTLE, WA – Tuesday, March 11th, 2014, marks the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan producing a massive tsunami that killed an estimated 18,000 people, caused $122B dollars of damage, and led to the eventual meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The environmental, social, and economic impacts of this historic disaster will be felt for decades.
To commemorate the on-going crisis and celebrate the resiliency of the Japanese people, Moontown Foundation and KING5 TVs Lori Matsukawa are hosting a special information session and screening of Canadian media activist and filmmaker Ian MacKenzie’s short film Reactor, a meditative, deliberate, quietly powerful half-hour glimpse into the uncharted new world of post-Fukushima Japan.
Choosing not to dwell on the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami nearly three years ago — and the subsequent nuclear catastrophe that has supplanted Chernobyl as the worst disaster of the Atomic Age — it’s about the response, as the initial shock fades and long-term repercussions and a new reality permeate the nation’s consciousness.
Reactor – Trailer from Ian MacKenzie on Vimeo.
Ultimately, it’s an exploration of humanity and what connects us all. Its beauty resides in its subtlety, in the equanimity and restraint exemplified by the Buddhism of its central character and emotional core, yogi/teacher/activist Michael Stone; there’s no tub-thumping (though drums are struck in a protest on the streets of Tokyo). MacKenzie lets the story tell itself, through articulate voices — a protestor, an academician, an activist — offering detail and context.
The most haunting words are softly, plaintively spoken by Hiroshima survivor Keiko Ogura, who says “I feel so sorry for Fukushima people” after describing the horror she witnessed as an 8-year-old — the flash of the atomic bomb’s detonation like “a thousand suns.” A final, intensely personal message of hope and call for action is tempered by the reality that a new government has reversed course and is doubling down on Japan’s nuclear future.
EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Time: 6-7PM, Reception; 7-9PM, Screening and Discussion
Admission: $25 Private Reception; $15 General Admission
Location: Wing Luke Museum, 719 South King St., Seattle, WA 98104
Tickets: Brown Paper Tickets
Light appetizers and refreshments provided. Special musical guest Buckman Coe. Interpretive services upon request. Seating capacity limited.
About Ian Mackenzie
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ian Mackenzie is a video journalist, media activist, and documentary filmmaker. Mackenzie’s work has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic TV, Canadian Broadcasting Channel, Adbusters, and film festivals around the world. He co-produced Velcrow Ripper’s feature documentary Occupy Love (2013). Sacred Economics (2012), produced in collaboration with author Charles Eisenstein, is one of his most popular web films. Ian’s short film, The Revolution Is Love (2011) was named one of the top 10 films chronicling the Occupy Movement of 2011. In 2010, he released One Week Job, an inspirational story about a guy who worked 52 jobs in 52 weeks to find his passion. The project received widespread attention from the New York Times and CNN. To learn more visit www.ianmack.com.
About Buckman Coe
Buckman Coe is a Yogi, Soul, Folk and Reggae Artist from Vancouver, British Columbia. With a background in Human Geography and Counseling Psychology, his lyrics show a keen understanding of human emotion; a concern for the Earth and his music reflects a Zen-like calm and inner peace. Coe favors bright, shimmering melodies in the style of Paul Simon and Neil Young. His voice is a gossamer falsetto that recalls the grace and elegance of the late Jeff Buckley. His lyrics eschew the simplistic rhyming couplets of much folk music for intricate and sometimes subversive passages that go much deeper than the easy-listening veneer of his melodies. To learn more visit www.buckmancoe.com.
Children of the Tsunami
Children of the Tsunami is a powerful documentary film depicting stories of survival in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that struck the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011; as told by 7-10 year old youth.
3 Years After Fukushima
March 11th, 2014, marks the 3-year anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan producing a massive tsunami that killed over 18,000 people, caused $122B dollars of damage, and led to the eventual meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The environmental, social, and economic impacts of this historic disaster will be felt for decades.
Join us for a special information session and screening of the documentary film REACTOR.
Produced and directed by critically acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Ian Mackenzie (OCCUPY LOVE, SACRED ECONOMICS, ONE WEEK JOB), REACTOR follows Michael Stone, a Yogi and Buddhist monk, on his inspirational pilgrimage to Japan in the aftermath of the disaster to witness firsthand how the Japanese are responding to the on-going crisis.
Official Trailer: http://http://www.reactorfilm.com
EVENT DETAILS:
- Time: 6-7PM, Reception; 7-9PM, Screening and Discussion
- Admission: $25 Private Reception; $15 General Admission
- Location: Wing Luke Museum – Tateuchi Story Theater
- Tickets: http://reactorfilm.bpt.me
Light appetizers and refreshments provided. Special musical guest Buckman Coe. Interpretive services upon request. Seating capacity limited.
Email info [at] moontownfoundation [dot] org for more information.
Filmmaker Blasted on Facebook After Disaster Relief Work
New York-based filmmaker, Casey Neistat, gets blasted on Facebook after spending $25,000 from 20th Century Fox on disaster relief supplies to assist the Filipino survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), and for making a movie trailer out of his experience .
Post by Casey Neistat.
Continue reading “Filmmaker Blasted on Facebook After Disaster Relief Work”
When Hubris and Arrogance Get in the Way of Human Safety
A fascinating article covering the story of Isaac Cline and his journey to rebuild his life and sense of purpose after surviving the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda Photo Tour
Explore damage from Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda by browsing photos from Twitter, Facebook, news articles, and other websites curated with the MicroMapper platform. Click a point on the map to see the image from that area – See more at: http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-response/hurricanes/typhoon-haiyan-yolanda-photo-tour#sthash.z009ydA8.dpuf
Resolve to be Ready in 2014!
“Winging it is not an emergency plan. #Prepared2014 http://thndr.it/1cAW4cc”
Rethinking the Way We Respond to Disasters
Most people give immediately after a crisis, in response to clear emotional appeals. Yet donors who allocate funds across the disaster life cycle have an opportunity to help insure that each dollar given reaches its full potential. This presentation discusses how individuals and organizations traditionally give during a crisis, and proposes several innovative approaches to promoting short- and long-term solutions to help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.
Storm Surge 