15 ore 26 ottob 2021 anni - THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Johnny Depp film spurs Milan Minamata disease studies by Japanese kids

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FROM THE ASAHI SHIMBUN:

Depp film spurs Milan Minamata disease studies by Japanese kids

By MASAMITSU OKU

The Johnny Depp film "Minamata,” rather than a Japanese source, motivated Japanese students at a school in Milan to want to study Minamata disease, one of the worst ecological disasters to have befallen Japan.

Still, before committing to the subject, the students in the junior high school division of the Japanese School of Milan found themselves torn over whether it was acceptable for Japanese citizens like themselves to be relying on a film made by people from outside Japan.

Depp stars in the film as U.S. photographer W. Eugene Smith (1918-1978), whose work drew worldwide attention to the devastating effects of mercury poisoning in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Chiaki Nagano, who teaches English to Japanese students at the Japanese School of Milan, found the film made a strong connection with them.

“I want to make the world a better place to live in while our generation is here,” one boy in Nagano's class wrote in a report after watching the movie.

“That’s when I saw a seed sprouting toward the future,” the 43-year-old teacher said.

Students in the school's junior high school division gave English presentations in pairs on what they had learned about Minamata disease at an online side event of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change on Sept. 30.

[...]

In addition to Depp's film, the students of the Japanese school in the north Italian city watched footage of a news conference held during the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, where the film debuted, and received lessons from an Italian researcher who is well-versed in Minamata disease.

[Edited to relevant paragraphs only - full article available via the links below]

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