Imagine for one moment your child is late from school. You look up at the clock. You think, 'This is a bit strange. Normally, she's home by now.' You go to the school. You're told she went home a long time ago. Suddenly, that panicked feeling all parents dread hits. A night goes by, she doesn't come home. Another day, a week, a year, 5 years, 20 years goes by and still no word. That was the nightmare the parents of Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old Japanese girl, lived after she disappeared in November, 1977. But that was just the beginning of the Yokota family's nightmare. In 2002, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il admitted that his spies kidnapped Megumi and 12 others in order to train their secret agents in the culture and ways of the Japanese.
When my wife and I first heard this shocking true story we decided that it was something Americans had to hear. At the time, we were working full time and had no outlet to tell the story. So, with some room on our credit cards and a few dollars in our savings account, we took off to Japan and began shooting a documentary that has changed our lives. For more than a year, we have followed the Yokota family as they struggle to get their daughter back.
Our film is not a political or investigative work. It is a powerful, moving testimony to a parents' love for their child and what that love looks like when it is put to the test. More importantly, it is a story about the strength of family. It is a story you simply have to see to believe.
At the moment, we are in post-production, which means we are assembling the film in an edit room. The final film will be ready at the end of September. Our plan is to enter it in to film festivals around the world, starting with the Sundance Film Festival, one of the most prestigious. The only trouble is we do not have enough funds in place to show it publicly. We need your help. More importantly, the family of Megumi Yokota needs your help. Some very important people agree with us. Jane Campion, Academy Award-winning director of "The Piano" saw some of our footage and signed on as Executive Producer. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA), Ambassador Tom Foley, National Geographic Senior Asia Writer Tom O'Neill, Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) and many others count themselves as supporters.
If you want to help us tell this very important story to people here in America , please contact us at safarimedia@yahoo.com . For more info on us, check out our website at www.safarimedia.net.
We are especially looking for large corporate or individual donations (more than $5000) since our immediate needs are in the tens of thousands.
Donations can be made to the film via the International Documentary Association, one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world. They are backing our film by allowing us to use their charitable status to receive donations.
Please make your check payable to:
"International Documentary Association"
Please write "Abduction" on the check.
Mail to:
Safari Media
PO Box 33957
Washington DC
20033-0957
USA
Your funds will help us pay for the largest expenses in our budget, namely rights to use music, archival video footage, sound engineering (so it can be shown in a theater) and the high cost of transferring our digital tape to film.
This story has the power to change people's lives not just in Japan but here in the United States as well. Help us do that.
Thank you for reading this.
Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim
Co-Directors, "Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story"
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