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THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of Hiroshima, who has devoted her life to ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a passionate, 85-year-old survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Her moving story is told through the lens of her growing friendship with a second generation survivor, Mitchie Takeuchi.
Setsuko was miraculously pulled out of a fiery building after the bomb was dropped and unable to save her other 27 classmates who were burned to death alive. That experience shaped her life forever and she endeavored to keep a pledge she made to her friends - that no one should ever again experience the same horrible fate.
The film is a timely exploration of the global dangers of nuclear weapons and provides an insider's perspective as we see Setsuko campaign with ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons). The culmination of Setsuko's decades of activism is her acceptance speech at the 2017 Nobel Peace Awards.
The film was updated in 2021 to include an epilogue about the ratification and enactment of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on January 22, 2021.
82 minutes
SDH captions for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Directed by Susan Strickler
Produced by Mitchie Takeuchi, Susan Strickler
Writers: Mitchie Takeuchi, Susan Strickler, Renée Silverman
Co-Producer/Editor: Judd Blaise
Dir of Photography: Jennifer Hahn
Original music: Dallas Crane
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"Narrated through the experiences of two resilient hibakusha women, The Vow from Hiroshima is a well-researched, poignant and thoughtful work on the humanitarian approach to nuclear weapons. It is a fascinating story of how geopolitics and civil society intersects to influence policy, and how change is possible despite all odds."
Jayita Sarkar, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Boston University
A beautiful narrative. The Vow from Hiroshima poignantly shows the suffering faced by survivors of nuclear weapons. In telling the stories of Setsuko Thurlow and Mitchie Takeuchi, it demonstrates the agency of hibakusha, to resist the pervasive silencing and stigma associated with the atomic bombs. It offers a clarion call for a world free of nuclear weapons and should be required viewing for students and activists interested in peace and security issues."
Matthew Bolton, Associate Professor, Political Science, Director, International Disarmament Institute, Pace University
"The Vow from Hiroshima is a powerful, deeply moving film, centered on Setsuko Thurlow's quest to rid the world of the nuclear terror that cruelly destroyed her classmates and members of her family in 1945. Determined that the crime should never be repeated, she played a vital role in informing the world about the horrors of nuclear war and in securing the adoption of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Teachers and community organizations will find it a valuable and inspiring educational resource."
Lawrence Wittner, Professor of History Emeritus, SUNY - Albany, Author, Confronting the Bomb
"Setsuko Thurlow is a true hero, an extraordinary figure in the decades-long effort to ban nuclear weapons. The Vow from Hiroshima tells her story with great compassion. At a time when the nuclear threat is greater than in any other year since the destruction of Hiroshima, the issues this film addresses could not be more timely and important."
Eric Schlosser, journalist, author, "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety"