Help make film on 'Saint of Nagasaki'

The ailing Dr Nagai with his children

This year marks the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and a film production company is planning to tell the remarkable true story of how one man’s faith helped to rebuild the destroyed city and heal the wounds of a nation defeated and demoralized by war.

Major Oak Entertainment Ltd are raising funds to make a docu-drama telling the remarkable story of Dr Takashi Nagai, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Catholic convert and dedicated peace activist. His story is a dramatic and inspiring testament to the power of faith in the most extreme of circumstances. Many have petitioned that he be made a saint, and now it seems Dr Nagai may soon be declared 'Blessed'.

Takashi Nagai was a Japanese doctor and sceptical man of science whose passion for the pursuit of truth led him to undertake a dramatic conversion to Christianity at a time when Western religious beliefs were especially discouraged in Japan. On 9 of August 1945, he found himself amongst the survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, where this newfound faith was to be tested in the most extreme of circumstances.

With his beloved wife one of the 70,000 killed instantly, he was left with no choice but to fulfil his duty as a doctor, tending to the multitude of wounded and dying all around him, while struggling to make sense of his own loss and the responsibility he now faced for his two children.

It would be his faith that would guide him back to shattered remains of Nagasaki, and it would be this faith that would inspire him to stay there and help rebuild a city from rubble and ash.

He dedicated the rest of his short life to promoting world peace through his work as a writer. His first book was 'The Bells Of Nagasaki', which became a bestseller though out Japan, as a nation, defeated and demoralised by war, re-discovered through his words, the healing of power of love.

Dr Nagai died in May, 1951 of leukaemia brought on by prolonged exposure to radiation.

He left behind two children, a 10 year old son, Makoto and a five year old daughter, Kayano. But he also left behind a huge collection of books, articles and personal notes, addressed to his children and to God. Through these words, the spirit of Takashi Nagai continues to live, but sadly, his story is fast fading into the obscurity of forgotten history.

Directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins (The 13th Day, Finding Fatima), All That Remains will be a hybrid feature film and documentary that will use state of the art special effects, live-action dramatic reconstructions and computer generated animation, alongside candid and intimate interviews with friends and family of Dr Nagai.
changing quest for “the ultimate truth”.

The filmmakers will be working closely with leading authorities on Dr Nagai and the history of Nagasaki including, the University of Nagasaki, Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami and Fr Paul Glynn, author of the acclaimed biography on Dr Nagai, 'A Song for Nagasaki'.

“We’re not asking for people to give vast amounts of money, far from it, a little bit can go a long way if enough people pledge their support”, explains Ian Higgins. “For $15 you can see your name on the end credits of the movie, donate more and you could become a credited film producer.”

To watch a trailer, pledge your support or find out more, go to: www.indiegogo.com/All-That-Remains