Kazuo Hara won the University Japan Council’s first-ever documentary award

The University of Pittsburgh’s Japan Council has chosen filmmaker Kazuo Hara as the recipient of the council’s first biennial Japan Documentary Film Award for his latest directed film “Sennan Asbestos Disaster.” The documentary follows a group of former asbestos workers as they seek justice and recognition from an indifferent Japanese government.

Prior to a Sept. 27 screening of his film, Hara will be recognized at an award ceremony earlier that evening at 5:30 p.m. in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Tickets to the screening are free but require an RSVP. The event is held in conjunction with the 2018 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.