Films and TV programs about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are many, including Akira Kurosawa’s 1991 drama “Rhapsody in August” and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2015 made-for-TV documentary “Ishibumi.”
Until Hiroshi Kurosaki’s new film "Gift of Fire," however, none have dealt with Japan’s own effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II. A director for public broadcaster NHK whose credits include the hit morning drama “Hiyokko” (2017) and the serial drama "Reach Beyond the Blue Sky," which is currently airing on Sunday nights, Kurosaki started research for the film more than a decade ago, inspired by the journal of a scientist on the bomb-building project.
His finished script, then titled “Prometheus' Fire,” won a special mention at the 2015 Sundance Institute/NHK Awards, and a judge of the contest, NHK producer Katsuhiro Tsuchiya, offered to help put Kurosaki’s vision on the screen. They were later joined by Los Angeles-based veteran producer and distributor Ko Mori, who wanted to make a film that could play in international markets as well as Japan.