ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
A taiko drum troop near the failed Fukushima nuclear power plant struggles to stay together after being forced to flee their beloved mountain community because of high radiation levels.

SYNOPSIS
Don Doko Don: The Yamakiya Taiko Club Story is a documentary by filmmaker Darryl Wharton-Rigby, which follows Genki Endo and the Yamakiya Taiko Club, an award winning Japanese taiko drum troop. The group is comprised of kids, teens and 20-year-olds—living in Yamakiya, a small town near the failed Fukushima nuclear power plant—that struggle to stay together after being is forced to flee their beloved mountain community because of high levels of radiation. This story is important as it shows the resiliency of a community working to maintain their lives and traditions after a tragic and life altering event.

The documentary would give a history of taiko drumming in Japan and how Yamakiya Taiko fits into that world. We will get to know the members of the group and come to understand what taiko drumming means to them as well as their community.

Wharton-Rigby started filming footage for this project in 2005, while an English in Kawamata Town in Fukushima. For the past ten years, we have been following the Yamakiya Taiko Club and documenting them. As filmmakers with a proven track record, we have over 100 hours of footage, which includes Genki since he was a high school student and other group members.

This is a story that must be told, as this film will show how this community is surviving and moving forward after a tragic event.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Darryl Wharton-Rigby
PRODUCER Darryl Wharton-Rigby, Kevin Perkins

WEBSITE filmsnoirfilms.com