Montreal, February 9, 2010 – The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Japan and the Quebec Government Office in Tokyo, presents the Japanese premiere of Philippe Baylaucq’s A Dream for Kabul (renamed Fire and Water / De feu et d’eau for the Japanese version). The screening will take place today at the Embassy. The director and the film’s protagonist, Haruhiro Shiratori – who lost his son in the September 11, 2001, attacks – will be present at this special Tokyo screening, along with friends of Mr. Shiratori’s son. For Philippe Baylaucq, returning with his film to the country where the project began provides an opportunity to present a fresh look at Mr. Shiratori’s unique adventure – an adventure filled with pain and hope. Following the Japanese premiere, the film will be screened with English and French subtitles at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau on March 11 at 7 pm.

The film

In 2001, Haruhiro Shiratori lost his only child, a son, in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Rather than isolating himself in grief, he decided to go to Afghanistan, talk to the people and help them so that similar attacks would never happen again. Philippe Baylaucq filmed the quest of this Japanese Don Quixote over a four-year period and on three continents. Shiratori’s dream is to build a cultural centre for the children of Kabul. Everywhere he goes, he speaks about the suffering endured by the Afghan children. He preaches, persuades and relentlessly fundraises with admirable determination. It is a humanitarian quest that is laden with obstacles. But it is also the initiatory voyage of a father who, by trying to break the cycle of violence, is seeking reconciliation with his dead son. A Dream for Kabul was produced by InformAction in co-production with the NFB. It won the Outstanding Canadian Documentary award at the ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto and a Gémeaux award (Best Original Music: documentary).

The director

Philippe Baylaucq is an independent director who has made several documentaries, dramas and experimental films. He studied sculpture and film at Hornsey College and Saint Martins School of Art in London, England. His works have garnered numerous awards in Canada and abroad. Lodela (1996) received eleven international distinctions and Mystère B. (1998) was an award winner at FIFA. His documentaries Les couleurs du sang (2000) and Moving Sands (2003) were in the official selection at several festivals, and the musical tale Hugo and the Dragon (2001) has been screened worldwide. A Dream for Kabul was shot over several years. During that time, Philippe Baylaucq was also coordinating director of the collective film Happiness Bound (2007). In 2008, he directed a scientific documentary, Mind in Motion. The following year, he completed Twice upon a Garden, a documentary about the Reford Gardens and their visionary creators. He is highly involved in the film industry and has been chairing the RIDM (Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal) since 2005. In April, 2009, he was named cinéaste en résidence (filmmaker-in-residence) at the NFB for a two-year period.


About the NFB

Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board of Canada creates social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. The NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st-century cinema and breaking new ground in form and content through community filmmaking projects, cross-platform media, programs for emerging filmmakers, stereoscopic animation – and more. It works in collaboration with creative filmmakers and co-producers in every region of Canada, with Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities, as well as partners around the world. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. In 2009, Neighbours/Voisins by NFB animation founder Norman McLaren was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. The NFB’s new website features over 1,400 productions online, and its iPhone app has become one of the most popular and talked about downloads. Visit NFB.ca today and start watching.

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