Kickstarter

Synopsis: "HIBAKUSHA" is an animated documentary/drama featuring Kaz Suyeishi, an 84 year old woman, who recalls her most vivid and horrific experiences as an 18 year old Japanese American student during the morning of August 6, 1945 when the atomic bomb dropped on her hometown.

Steve Nguyen (Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Jarhead) is attached to direct/produce the film and acclaimed animator & music video director Choz Belen (Far East Movement's "I Party" and Deep Foundation's "Sleep") is set to animate the film. The film will be voiced by Karin Anna Cheung (The People I've Slept With, Better Luck Tomorrow) and Daisuke Suzuki (American Dad!, The Hillz).

Principal photography is expected to commence early February 2011 in the Los Angeles and New York area, and post production/illustrations will commence shortly afterwards.

This film is inspired to bring awareness to the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings in hopes that nothing like this will ever happen again and over time, show tremendous forgiveness after these terrible incidents occurred. This project will commemorate the 66th Anniversary of the bombings and is dedicated to the Association of Hiroshima & Nagasaki A-bomb Survivors.

We are in the process of setting up an IMDB page once production starts rolling, so hopefully everything is squared away by then!

What the money is for: In the past several months, the crew has grown and managing the project has happily taken over our lives. This critical mass is forcing us to leave our part time work and focus on the film until it is done. The funds needed would be directed straight to the production and animation costs as well as distribution and the film festival budget. Your financial support will make this a reality.

Plus, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you were able to contribute to a life-long dream. Mrs. Suyeishi always wanted a biopic to be filmed of her story before she passed away, and to see it come true would make her very happy.

HIBAKUSHA CAST AND CREW

STARRING: KAZ SUYEISHI, PRISCILLA GEE, DAISUKE SUZUKI, KARIN ANNA CHEUNG

DIRECTOR(S): STEVE NGUYEN & CHOZ BELEN

PRODUCER(S): STEVE NGUYEN, DEAN MATSUDA, AND TIMOTHY TAU

CONSULTING PRODUCER: KOJI STEVEN SAKAI

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER(S): RYAN SUDA, JOCELYN WANG, YUEFAN WENG, CLINT KIRK, KYLE LAU, CLEMENT NG, LISA STILES, SCOTT ERIKSSON, JUSTIN CHUNG, JASON WEBB

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER(S): KATO COOKS, BRIAN L. TAN

WRITER(S): STEVE NGUYEN & DEAN MATSUDA

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR(S): CHOZ BELEN, TIMOTHY TAU

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARVIN ORENDAIN

2ND UNIT DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TOMMY SU

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: TOMMY SU, JEN LE

THANKS: YUE DENG, CINDY WONG, JENN FANG, PATRICK MICHAEL STRANGE JIH-FANG JENNY YANG, ANDREW CHUNG, JOHN CHUNG, DERWIN, GIANA NGUYEN FOSTER, KRISTINA WONG, DAGMAR WEAVER-MADSEN, LISA CLEMENS, AQUARIUS FILMS, MIKE PRICE, EMILY WU, NICOLE HANAFIN, ANNA WU PHOTOGRAPHY, RANDOM NINJAS

SPECIAL THANKS: MICHAEL C. POOLE, EDWARD HONG, TIMOTHY OTA, NELSON MATSUDA, JASON LEE, GIL ASAKAWA, NGA TRUONG, PETER ONG LIM, RISHEE JAIN, MARIO XAVIER, TRISH LUU, JON L. BRODY, MIKE KANG, BRAD MORRIS, DANNY ROSENBAUM, JOEL MADAYAG, EIKO SITHIAMNUAI, ED MOY, NAOMI HIRAHARA, JULIA MURAKAMI, OLIVER BEAR, MIKE AVILA, JOANN KATANA

PUBLICITY: 8ASIANS.COM, A-TUNES.NET, ASIAN SUPERMARKET, ASIANS ON FILM, APA IDENTITY, BLACKLAVA, CHANNELAPA.COM, EXAMINER.COM, NIKKEI VIEW, REAPPROPRIATE.ORG, SCHEMA MAGAZINE, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, TSJ STUDIOS, TURTLIST MEDIA

MUSIC SUPERVISOR: ROBERT SAFIR

SOUND DESIGNER: ICON MEDIA, DAVE JOHNSON, MIKE VENEGAS

THANK YOU TO: JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE, CONSULATE-GENERAL OF JAPAN IN LOS ANGELES, LIGHTHOUSE MAGAZINE, RAFU SHIMPO, THE CITY OF HIROSHIMA, JAPAN, THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD OF AMERICA