GONTA: The Story of the Two-Named Dog in the Fukushima Disaster

Synopsis

On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.0 hit the Tohoku region. The Tomita Diner family evacuates from place to place, leaving their 8-year-old dog, Gonta, behind. Meanwhile Yoshino, a female university student in Tokyo, joins a pet rescue volunteer group and goes to the disaster area. There, she rescues a dog and names him Peace, but he is found to be suffering from a serious illness and is diagnosed as having only one month to live. Yoshino desperately tries to bring Peace back to his original owner. Miraculously, Yoshino meets the Tomita family and learns that Peace is Gonta. Gonta continues to live to the point that even doctors are surprised, and becomes a hope for many victims. Yoshino also becomes increasingly involved in pet rescue, which she had a reason for.

 

Cast

Yui Ishikawa, Satoru Saito, Yu Kamio, Ryotaro Okiayu, Sarah Emi Bridcutt.

 

Staff

Director: Akio Nishizawa

Producer: Kiyomitsu Aoki

Screenplay: Akio Nishizawa

Director of Photography: Miyuki Hayashi

Editor: Keisuke Yanagi

Music: Makoto Kuriya

Sound designer: Toshiya Wada, Yoko Sakurai

Production: WAO CORPORATION Co., Ltd.

Co-production: WAO WORLD

 

About the Director

Akio Nishizawa is 81 years old and was born in Tokyo. It is at the age of 60 that he ventured into anime production, transitioning from the field of education. He aims to create works that are closer to live-action, capable of impressing not only children but also adults, rather than manga-like anime characterized by exaggerations and omissions. His first work, NITABOH, won the Grand Prix at SICAF 2006 in Seoul. His second work received the Grand Prize at the Asian Film Festival in Lyon, France, and his third work received the Second Prize at the same festival. His latest work, Tongari Head Gonta, took a total of 6 years to finish and was completed under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, with all the directions conducted online.