Japanese filmmaker Masako Sakata began documenting the legacy of Agent Orange in Việt Nam after the sudden death of her husband, a former American soldier, in 2003. What began as a personal search for answers has become a lifelong mission of storytelling and advocacy. She speaks with Việt Nam News reporter Thu Vân about her journey.
From the very beginning, you have had a very personal reason to follow the subject of Agent Orange. Can you share a little bit with us the reason you started your first film?
Yes, my husband, who was an American soldier in Việt Nam from 1967 to 1970, died very suddenly in 2003 of liver cancer. The death came so suddenly, I was so taken by surprise.
Somebody told me that the cause of his death maybe was because of Agent Orange. He was exposed during the war. I couldn’t believe it at first because 35 years after he was out of the military in Việt Nam, how can that happen? Then I wondered what Agent Orange was all about. I wanted to find out. At the same time, I wanted to have a new purpose of life after his death, and I thought of making a documentary film on the subject.
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| Japanese filmmaker Masako Sakata. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Long |
It’s only after your husband’s death that you started to learn to study and make films? Were there any challenges for you?
I thought documentary filmmaking was done by a big team with a cameraman, soundman and a director like Akira Kurosawa, who has the image of a very macho man with a big film crew. I didn’t think I could make one, but I found a little workshop in America that taught me how to make documentaries using a video camera, a light video camera, and also doing editing on camera. I enrolled in a workshop for two weeks and I learned from the very beginning how to use the camera and how to edit on a computer.
I thought, wow, I can make a film myself. Then I came back to Japan and bought a Sony camera and decided to come to Việt Nam and look for the story.
Did you come across any challenges or difficulties in working with the families that you were filming in Việt Nam?
No, I had no idea what I could accomplish, and I had the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time. I wasn’t sure how willing they were to help us to visit the victims, but they were very helpful and took us, meaning myself, and a British photographer who covered the Việt Nam War, a very well-known photographer, the late Philip Jones Griffith.
The two of us went to the Mekong Delta, around HCM City, and the Quảng Trị area, and Hà Nội, all over the place. It was a very good experience for me, and I was so surprised to find victims of Agent Orange everywhere, in the cities and in the countryside.
I was new in handling the camera. I did not know even how to focus or how to adjust the light. I was very new in the techniques of handling the camera, but the subject matter was so compelling. I shot a lot of films.
During the making of the films, what has surprised you most with emotion? Was there any joy, anything really shocking, any sorrows that you came across during the making of the films?
I did not know what to expect, really, from that trip, but I was overwhelmed by the number of Agent Orange victims and the situation that they were living in. But I was so healed by looking at the people living in such difficulty, but at the same time, surrounded by love, by family.
This warmth came through to me, through a lens and it was a healing experience for me.
It was a very personal purpose for you to pursue the first film. How about the following ones?
My approach to the subject has evolved. My first film was made out of personal sorrow. Once the film was made, I thought, well, maybe I could overcome my sorrow to some extent.
But then I realised the scope of the problem is much bigger than me. I wanted to look at the situation with a wider view, so I went to the United States and did a story on children of US veterans who were affected by Agent Orange. I wanted to see the situation in a broader scope, historically and geographically. After that, I thought, well, maybe I’m done with it.
However, I then started a scholarship, Seeds of Hope, with the money donated by viewers of the earlier movies. I started a scholarship programme called Seeds of Hope. I would visit here several times, and I was taken to meet the students who had been receiving scholarships.
I was moved by the situation that they were living in. Sometimes there’s a girl who has to take care of three uncles and the father, who are all born with disability. She’s okay, but she’s only 15 and she has to take care of the family.
Or there’s a family in Quảng Tri, whose four children cannot walk. Those dire situations moved me to make another one, so that was the third one. In making the third one, I encountered Ms Trần Tố Nga, who is suing American chemical companies for the damage of Agent Orange.
I was moved by her resilience and courage, and I’m making a story of her life. At the same time, the 50th anniversary occurred, and she thought it would be a good idea to interview NLF members who fought the war during the 50s and 60s. At the same time, Việt Nam Veterans for Peace, which is the organisation of veterans who fought in the war and who are now mobilising to establish peace, were coming here for the 50th anniversary.
At the same time, Veterans for Peace, a group of American soldiers who fought in Việt Nam, were coming on a tour to commemorate the 50th anniversary. So I thought it would be a good chance to have the full-size meet. I would like to put all this together and make probably my last film.
How do you think that the young generations, not only in Việt Nam, but also in concerned countries, have been engaged with this topic, Agent Orange?
In Japan, the Agent Orange issue is quite well known. Because in the 90s, there were Vietnamese conjoined twins, Nguyen Viet and Nguyen Duc, who had an operation in Việt Nam. But there was a lot of help from Japanese people, and the television reported on this subject many, many times.
So Agent Orange is a well-known subject in Japan, but they did not know, beyond Việt Nam, how terrible it was. So many people who have seen my film said they did not know how bad it is still. So it was an eye-opener.
Do you face any challenges in starting the project or any support that you want to mention?
No, I don’t feel any challenges because it started spontaneously. My first film was shown in a prestigious theatre in Tokyo, and people said: “Oh it was very moving”. We thought, maybe we would put a box and asked for donations, and we collected more than we thought. So that was the beginning. And then I thought of maybe starting a scholarship, because I was told that if you have 2,500 yen, I don’t know how much it is, whether it is enough to support a student for one year at that time, 15 years ago.
So I thought, well, it’s a dinner in Tokyo. Maybe we can collect some more and help the children.
And I started to call for donations at each showing of my films, and we have been able to support nearly 200 students. And every time I come here, VAVA (Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin Foundation) takes me to scholarship students. They are so appreciative and they show me how their lives have changed, and that moves me, and I keep doing it.
It’s a very small help that we can offer, but to see that it makes some people happy, and some families easier to live, that is very gratifying for me.
Finally, I think it’s important to remember the damage that was done by Agent Orange, which is easily hidden with other problems that surround us in the whole world. We should take this as a lesson on how important it is to take care of our environment and not to succumb to something like defoliants and nuclear damage. Let’s hope we can do something for a better world. — VNS
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