ZAN

LAST OF THE
OKINAWAN DUGONg

Zan is a documentary about the last of the Okinawan Dugong and the people who strive to protect them, located in the outstandingly beautiful and bio diverse Henoko, Oura bay, the Dugong is facing its last stand, its feeding grounds are threatened by the construction of a US Marine base. This film follows imageMILL’s Yu Kisami as he brings us on a journey of discovery, aided by NGO NACJS we meet the people who are working tirelessly to protect this beautiful part of the world, a natural heritage for Japan.

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SET IN OURA BAY OKINAWA, JAPAN

The base at Henoko Bay requires extensive landfill because it's being constructed in the ocean. Okinawa, a prefecture made up of an archipelago centered around its largest island, already hosts 32 U.S. military bases across its 877 square miles. Most of these installations are located on the main island, where the U.S. military controls 15 percent of the land. Officially, the Henoko base is meant to replace Futenma Air Station, which President Bill Clinton, in a 1996 joint agreement, pledged would close within five to seven years. However, critics have long doubted whether Henoko will truly replace Futenma, not only due to the uncertainty surrounding its completion but also because its capabilities are projected to surpass those of the current air st

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RICK GREHAN

director/producer

This film is dedicated to the activists who daily protest against the construction of the Marine base, because of the lack of proper media coverage in the mainstream media, people on mainland Japan have no idea what is happening.

I wanted to try to avoid politics as much as possible and focus on the Dugong themselves, and the beautiful nature of Oura Bay, we are all united in our appreciation of nature and the protection of the environment, these principals should transcend all political beliefs. I wanted to show the tireless work of the NGOs who record and test the environment scientifically montoring the health of the ocean and the coral. The Dugong has become a symbol of peace, its deeply connected with the history of Okinawa, rooted in legends and mystery, it has been rumored to have control over the waves and even tsunamis, it is connected with the legends of mermaids.

What little news there is, serves to polarize and stigmatize the protestors labeling them as some sort of extremist group who don’t represent the majority of Okinawans, there is an attempt to divide the people into people who are pro base and those against, but I found things aren’t that simple, in fact nearly everyone I spoke to was united in the wish to end all foreign bases in Okinawa, just some think they have no choice. A false sense of economic dependency on the bases seems to have been created, when in actual fact Okinawa has much more economic potential in other fields including tourism.

This film serves to simplfy the poltiical and historical situation and shed some light on this mystical creature and the importance of preserving its habitat.

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