Sanctuary in Japan

by Courtney Templeton – Senior Film Production Major

Today started out like every other day.

We went down for morning exercise, and afterwards, we filmed the participants working with the chickens—all before the breakfast bell rang. 

Afterwards, we went straight into setting up for our interview with Bev Abma, a board member for American Friends of ARI (AFARI). This interview was a bit challenging because of its location being in the middle of muddy field. This got us an incredibly rewarding shot of the mountains in the background, and Bev provided a lot of useful information about her ARI graduate research. She shared a few insightful stories from her travels abroad. Later on we filmed three other interviews among a few ARI graduates and a participant.

In the evening we were invited to watch a documentary made by a German filmmaker. The documentary was about an ARI graduate who returned to his home country of Sierra Leone where he ran a football club for amputees. The most impactful part of watching this documentary was that an ARI participant from Sierra Leone was there to watch it with us. She shared with us her experience of how the Civil War impacted her country. 

It always amazes me the opportunities I get as a filmmaker, whether I’m doing an interview in the middle of a field overlooked by mountains or learning about the civil war in Sierra Leone. On this trip, everyday has been different. I’ve gotten the chance to interview many people from various countries, and learned about their cultures. I’ve worked alongside the participants farming in the fields and filmed them doing so. This trip has been rich in experiences. I’ll never forget the unexpected friendships I’ve forged, food I’ve tried and the stories that I’ve been trusted with.