Otaku Hourly

A Story Unspoken, Not Forgotten - Dragonfly with Julia Morizawa

We know Hiroshima and Nagasaki, yet have you ever heard of the Tokyo Firebombing of 9-10 March 1945? This event left Tokyo's Shitamachi District in cinders and corpses, leaving 100,000 dead and a million homeless; a toll exceeding Hiroshima. Julia Morizawa's independent animated short film, Dragonfly, is an inspired account of her grandmother's survival from that chaotic night that changed Tokyo forever. We talk:

  • Inspiration for the film
  • Creative process in balancing factual history and personal family testimony
  • Developing her FIRST animated feature
  • Crafting and portraying her grandmother for Dragonfly
  • Clarifying the ending; leaving the conversation in the dark

Dragonfly is currently in the festival circuit - release TBD

Information here

Many thanks to:

  • Julia Morizawa of Infinite Pictures for her time and insight.
  • Deborah Gilels of LA Media Consultants for organizing this interview
  • Los Angeles Asian Pacific Islander Film Festival for hosting Dragonfly