My university hosted a Planetary screening the other day. Guy, the film’s director, came along to take questions from the audience.

I have known Guy and Christoph (the film’s director of photography) since my undergraduate days at SOAS in London. They had embarked on this life journey a couple of years ago and it is a little daunting to think that I posted this blog post almost three years ago.

Their film got released in the States on Earth Day in April this year, during which time they also dropped by in DC. Guy has been traveling through Asia these last few weeks, so we thought we’d host a screening at GRIPS. With that much footage in the film from Tokyo, a premiere here was long overdue!

Guy showed the 52-minute cut of the documentary, which they have made for educational purposes. Having seen the longer previous version, they did a really good job at streamlining the narrative and sharpening the message. It was hard for me to tell which sections they had left out, which must be a good sign.

We also did a 30-minute Q&A after the film. Questions ranged from the logistical challenges of making the film to the political message as well as future plans. All in all, I think, people seemed really happy with what they saw and heard, especially since the stage downstairs is usually reserved for men in their fifties and above, wearing suit and tie, as one PhD student put it to me.

The GRIPS website ran stories in English and Japanese, too.