Center-Supported Documentary on Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Wins Emmy Award

The Pulitzer Center-supported documentary What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us About the Dangers of Nuclear War, by Retro Report and TIME, won an Emmy award in the Outstanding Light Feature: Short Film category. 

The film, published in English and Japanese, recounts the experiences of Japanese Hiroshima survivors who witnessed the devastating impact of the atomic bomb dropped by the United States in 1945. Through personal stories, the documentary explores the lasting physical, emotional, and social consequences of nuclear war, while highlighting ongoing efforts to preserve survivors' testimonies and advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Watch the film on the Pulitzer Center website.

To help educators and students in engaging with these stories and history, the Pulitzer Center developed a free resource guide. Retro Report created a series of lesson plans available on its website. 

The film also inspired public events and student poetry submissions through the Center’s Fighting Words Student Poetry Contest. A total of 17 students from eight states and Qatar selected the documentary on hibakusha, or bomb-affected people, as the anchor story for their poems. Read the first-place poem from high school student Collin Kim here.

“Was this what it felt like to be pinned down by the sky?”

— 8th grade student from New York City

Now in its 20th anniversary, the Pulitzer Center has supported numerous projects by Retro Report and TIME.