Film about Atomic bomb survivors premieres at U.N.

A film that follows more than 100 atomic bomb survivors as they travel around the world on the ‘‘Peace Boat’’ premiered at U.N. headquarters Monday. Directed by Costa Rica’s Erika Bagnarello, the film, ‘‘FLASHES OF HOPE: Hibakusha Traveling the World,’’ captured the voices of 103 victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

The 62-minute documentary filmed the atomic bomb survivors’ four-month global journey aboard the vessel of Japan-based nongovernmental organization Peace Boat, which visited a total of 23 ports in 20 countries from Sept 7, 2008 to Jan 13, 2009.

The voyage was meant for the atomic bomb survivors—called ‘‘hibakusha’’ in Japanese—to pass along their stories, memories, suffering and hope for the future through interaction with people they met at each stop, such as activists, politicians and ordinary citizens.

‘‘The time is ripe because of the U.S. administration,’’ Akira Kawasaki, the coordinator of the Peace Boat project, told an audience after the premiere. He was referring to U.S. President Barack Obama’s call for a nuclear free world, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

‘‘We are trying to use this momentum and this film as a good educational tool,’’ Kawasaki said.

Among the highlights of the journey was the hibakusha’s meeting with children and other victims of Agent Orange, used heavily during the Vietnam War as a herbicide, during their port call to Da Nang, Vietnam.

The group also met with Tahitians who were victims of French nuclear testing on atolls for about 30 years until 1996, and with Australian aborigines involved in mining uranium.

The film includes scenes from the Japanese antiwar animated movie ‘‘Barefoot Gen,’’ which portrays the life of a boy who survives the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.

Every year, the Peace Boat project charters a passenger ship to provide its passengers with the opportunity to interact with people from around the world to discuss international problems.

On the 25th anniversary of the project in 2008, Peace Boat decided to undertake the project as a way of sharing the hibakusha’s stories.

Among the survivors’ stories woven into the film is that of Setsuko Thurlow, who lost eight family members on Aug. 6, 1945.

As a central and charismatic figure, Thurlow insists in the film that it is her moral responsibility to educate herself and others to make a stand for the total elimination of the nuclear devices.

‘‘I have the moral responsibility to communicate that to the rest of the world,’’ she said. ‘‘I think we have a massive collection of voices and they cannot ignore us.’’

Director Bagnarello attended the premiere at the First Committee of the General Assembly, which is in charge of dealing with disarmament issues.

‘‘It was a one-year-long process till now and the purpose of the film was pretty much to tell the story of the hibakusha,’’ she said.

Saul Weisleder, a consultant with the International Peace Institute, who watched the film, said, ‘‘The message is very powerful and very well-presented because it conveys the message it wants.’’