The Day the Sun Fell
Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel
Aya Domenig
Switzerland, Finland/78min./2015
While tracing the story of her deceased grandfather, who worked as a young doctor at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital after the detonation of the atomic bomb, filmmaker Aya Domenig meets a former doctor and a nurse who lived a similar experience. Throughout his life, her grandfather never spoke about what he has went through, but talking to her protagonists brings her closer to him. When the nuclear disaster occurs in Fukushima on March 11, 2011, her quest takes a new turn.| Title in English | The Day the Sun Fell |
|---|---|
| Title in Original Language | Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel |
| Director(s) | Aya Domenig |
| Director's Bio/Filmography | Aya Domenig was born in Japan in 1972 and grew up in Switzerland. From 1992 until 2000 she studied social anthropology, film studies and Japanology at the University of Zurich, gaining an MA degree with her documentary film "Oyakata". From 2001 to 2005 Aya Domenig studied film directing at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Her graduation film "Haru Ichiban" (fiction, 22 min.) was screened at various international film festivals such as Locarno and Clermont-Ferrand and was awarded the Prix Cinécinéma at the Premiers Plans Film Festival in Angers. In 2015 her feature length documentary "The Day the Sun Fell" premiered at the 68th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival (Critics Week). The film was nominated for the Swiss Film Prize 2016 in two categories ('Best Documentary Film' and 'Best Film Score') and was awarded the Swiss Film Prize for Best Film Score. Aya Domenig is a member of the Swiss Film Academy and of the European Film Academy. |
| Year of Completion | 2015 |
| Nationality of the Film | Switzerland, Finland |
| Running Time | 78 min. |
| Aspect Ratio | Video: 16：9 |
| Color | Mixed |
| Screening Format | DCPBDDVD.mov (Apple ProRes 422 HQ), 25fps) |
| Shooting Locations | Hiroshima, Takagi (Fuchu, Hiroshima), Tokyo |
| Shooting Dates/Periods | April 2010 June and November 2011 June 2012 July-August 2012 May and October 2013 |
| Names of Characters | Doi Kiyomi, Uchida Chizuko, Hida Shuntaro |
| Language of Commentary and Dialogue | Japanese,German, |
| Subtitles | Japanese,English,German, French, Italian, Spanish |
| Date of First Public Screening | 2015/8/9 |
| Place of First Public Screening (Country) | Locarno, Switzerland |
| Date of First Public Screening in Japan | 2015/11/23 |
| Previous Screenings at Other Film Festivals and Events | - Cinema Release in Switzerland: Jan 2016 - International Screenings (Festivals and Events): 2015: "World Premiere" Locarno Int. Film Festival, Semaine de la Critique, Switzerland Weltfilmtage Thusis, Switzerland Hiroshima International Film Festival, Japan This Human World, Vienna, Austria 2016: Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis (Documentary Competition), Germany Solothurner Filmtage, Switzerland Mumbai International Film Festival (International Competition), India DOCfeed Eindhoven (Competition), Netherlands Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece Green Image Award, Green Image Film Festival (Competition), Japan Special Mention, Bolzano Film Festival Bozen (Documentary Competition), Italy Special Mention, 26. Filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Documentary Competition), Germany 13th Göttingen International Ethnographic Film Festival, Germany International Film Festival Innsbruck (Documentary Competition), Austria EDOC - Encuentros del Otro Cine, Ecuador Seoul Human Rights Film Festival (SHRFF), South Korea Bonner Dokumentarfilmwoche, Germany Horizonte-Filmprize, Fünf Seen Filmfestival (Competition), Germany Fethi Kayaalp Grand Prize (2nd Prize), Bozcaada Int. Festival of Ecological Documentary (BIFED), Turkey Prix Anthropologie et développement durable & Prix Mario Ruspoli and Special Mention: Fleury Doc, 35th Jean Rouch International Film Festival, France Incheon Human Rights Film Festival, South Korea 10th Cinema Vérité Iran International Documentary Film Festival 2017: Salem Film Fest, USA Cairo International Women Film Festival "Bain Synemayat", Egypt Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (DCEFF), USA 15th RAI Film Festival, UK 9. FESTIVAL DE CINE INVISIBLE, Bilbao Caravan of Cairo International Women's Film Festival, Spain Musée de l'Homme, France "Remembering Hiroshima, Imagining Peace" group, USA Akamos Eco Film Festival, Cyprus NAFA Film Festival, Denmark NO NUKE Film Festival, Taiwan Friedensforum Freiburg and Anti Atom Gruppe Freiburg (im Breisgau), Germany Festival Jean Rouch "On Tour", Museum of the Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean, France 2018: Ecofalante Environmental FF, Brazil - Screenings in Japan 2016: Gallery Intersection 611, Hiroshima Group of Legacy Successors, Hiroshima (Three times) Group of Happy Choice, Fukushima Greencoop (Cooperative society Hiroshima), Hiroshima New Japan Women’s Association, Hiroshima Musashino Citizen’s School for learning movies, Shiki, Saitama Group of Fuchu Citizens against Security treaty legislation, Fukuyama, Hiroshima Executive committee of mothers group in Fukuyama, Hiroshima 2017: Supporting group for Fukushima radiation exposure suit, First Members’ Office, Building of the Lower House, Tokyo Furuta Community hall, Hiroshima Network for recuperation, Toyama Combination measures meeting for Intermediate nuclear waste storage facility in Futabamachi, Kasu, Saitama NPO Bridge to Chernobyl, Sapporo, Hokkaido Takeya Community hall, Hiroshima Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Gifu Group of doctors, Gifu Musashino Citizen’s School for learning movies, Shiki, Saitama Greencoop (Cooperative society Hiroshima), Hiroshima EISHIN GAKUEN (High school), Shiki, Saitama Association of A-bomb victim in Hokkaido, Sapporo Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima 2018: Biwako Camp, Ôtsu, Shiga Group of Legacy Successors, Yokogawa Cinema, Hiroshima [Q&A with Mr. Arthur Binard] Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima |
| Staff Credits |
Script: Aya Domenig Photography: Mrinal Desai Editing: Tania Stöcklin Sound: Makoto Takaoka Music: Marcel Vaid |
| Producer | Mirjam von Arx, Tanja Meding |
| Distributor / Distribution Company | World Sales: Georg Gruber, Magnetfilm International Sales / Distribution Switzerland: Bea Cuttat, LookNow! / Distribution Japan: Group of Legacy Successors (被爆体験を継承する会) |
| Official Website for the Film | http://www.thedaythesunfell.com |
| Other Online Access to the film | https://www.facebook.com/alsdiesonnevomhimmelfiel/ https://hibaku-keisho.jimdo.com |
| Screenings at the Past YIDFF Programs and Events | None |
