Switzerland – International distributor First Hand Films has finalised co-production deals and pre-sales with broadcasters for the documentary film Beyond the Wave. The doco won the Best Japan Pitch Award at this year’s Asian Side of the Doc.

First Hand Films has entered agreements with NHK (Japan), BBC (UK) and IKON (The Netherlands) who join WDR Cologne as co-production partners. The company has also signed pre-sales with SVT (Sweden), YES (Israel) and Knowledge Network (Canada) and is in negotiations with other broadcasters.

In Beyond the Wave (58′ and 90′), director Kyoko Myake revisits Fukushima to find out the fate of her mother’s hometown post Tsunami devastation, as it risks disappearing off the map. She is puzzled as to why people aren’t angry, and questions whether Western media is right in depicting the Japanese people as just being an obedient nation. Currently in production, the film is produced by Gregor Streiber and is scheduled for delivery in February 2013.

Beyond the Wave is funded by National and International Funds, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg (Development/Production), and Filmstiftung NRW (Production) amongst others.