Praise for Atsushi Funahashi's NUCLEAR NATION

"Valuable. A cautionary tale worth heeding." - Josh Rothkopf, Time Out New York

"An assured and sobering documentary that charts the situation in Futaba, Japan, shortly after the 2011 meltdown at the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Employing straightforward, music-free aesthetics that express the grim realities of his story, director Funahashi captures both grief and outrage in equal measure, all of it tinged with the displaced and desolate citizens' regret over having predicated their fates on the very energy-source technology that cost them so much during WWII."
- Nick Schager, The Village Voice

"Devastating... startling and affecting footage." - Benjamin Mercer, The L Magazine

"Worthy and troubling. Atsushi Funahashi uses his camera as silent witness to what, up to now, has not been fully seen and acknowledged." - Joyce Kulhawik, RogerEbert.com

"This film will force you to reassess all the arguments for and against nuclear power."
- Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"While sifting through images of unimaginable destruction and desolation, a sense of abiding perseverance and ultimate reemergence shines through in the daily actions and interactions of the film's subjects... Funahashi concentrates his narrative on the people left behind. The tenacity and spirit of this community, which faces seemingly insurmountable odds in rebuilding so many shattered lives, is nothing less than remarkable... An unnerving reminder and warning meant for all of the world's nuclear nations."
- John Hamilton, Film Forward

"The story it tells speaks volumes." - Ethan Alter, Film Journal

"The director, who also served as editor and main cinematographer, sticks with the Futaba refugees. His approach is direct, intimate yet respectful, and sometimes as mournful as the stark piano-and-flute score." - Mark Jenkins, NPR

"Nuclear Nation remains a quiet, painful reminder that disasters aren't disasters because of the sound and excitement, but because of the blank spaces they leave in people's lives."
- Noah Berlatsky, The Dissolve

"A Real life horror story. Raises issues that aren't going away."
- Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post

"A quietly outraged expose of how the people of Futaba were lied to, and neglected by the power company and by the Japanese government. 'Nuclear Nation' is a film that listens patiently, and at length, to the voices of those who lost the people and things most precious to them, and mourns the people, and their way of life, that have passed away."
- Christopher Bourne, Meniscus

"Confronted with a catastrophe of such magnitude as the Fukushima reactor fallout, 'Nuclear Nation' cuts to the heart of the matter by focusing firmly on those most gravely affected: evacuees from Futaba, which became ground zero on March 12, 2011. Expressing solemn concern while maintaining a respectful distance from his subjects, director Atsushi Funahashi ultimately transcends a lengthy, unpolished and mosaic-like narrative to drive home not only their hardship and fortitude, but the alarming implications of corporate/ governmental indifference and ineptitude vis-a-vis Japan's nuclear policies. Accessible and informative." - Maggie Lee, Variety

"Atsushi Funahashi keeps a clear and compassionate eye on his subjects, and they're relaxed on camera, explaining the monumental change in their lives on a personal and societal basis. In focusing on the human stories, he forges a smart, cohesive documentary which delves into the drama of simply waiting in hope. It's a strange, sad and occasionally uplifting experience." - Scott Macdonald, Eye For Film