AIFF

View Original

Bicentennial Bonsai: Emissaries of Peace

SUNDAY | 3:20pm

Paul Awad and Kathryn O’Sullivan

35 min | 2020 | USA | New England Premiere 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Sponsored by Real Italian Gusto, Medford

“If more people did bonsai, there would be more peace in the world.”

– Saburo Kato (1915-2008), Bonsai Master

In 1975, only 30 years after the United States and Japan had been at war, Japan gave 53 priceless bonsai trees to the United States in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. Some bonsai were several hundred years old. One had remarkably survived the bombing of Hiroshima. This documentary chronicles this historic gift, includes rare interviews and archival footage, and reveals how we can rediscover our shared humanity and establish a path toward healing and world peace.

Awards: Best Work which reflects the value of cinema to help create a better world at Utopia Film Festival, US; Official Selection at Dunedin International Film Festival, US; Official Selection at Loudoun Arts Film Festival, VA.

Screening followed by Q&A with Filmmakers