Matt Taylor

(Mainichi Japan) March 8, 2009
Director hopes to open gate of people's hearts with 'Atomic Flame' film
ひと：マット・テイラーさん＝原爆を描いた映画「ＧＡＴＥ」監督

　◇マット・テイラー（Ｍａｔｔ　Ｔａｙｌｏｒ）さん
The director of a film on the journey of a flame burning since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima said he wanted to put an end to the circle of nuclear destruction with a symbolic extinguishing of the flame at the U.S. site where the world's first atomic bomb test was performed.
In the journey, the atomic flame in Hoshino, Fukuoka Prefecture, kept alive since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, was used to light a lantern and this flame was taken to the United States. It was carried on foot from San Francisco to Trinity Site in New Mexico, where the world's first atomic bomb test was performed.
Taylor said that he wanted to extinguish the flame in the place where the atomic bomb was born to put an end to the circle of nuclear destruction.
　福岡県星野村にある、広島原爆から採火した「原爆の火」。分けてもらった火を、１９４５年に初の核実験が行われたトリニティーサイトで消すまで、米国内２５日間の行脚を１時間４０分の作品にまとめた。「核による破滅の輪を閉じるため、原爆が生まれた地で火を消したいと考えたのです」

The American director, Matt Taylor, spent his youth in Japan, and was shocked by the reality of the destruction of the atomic bombs when he visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Going back to his roots, he planned a walking tour in 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of the bombings.
　家庭の事情で幼少時を日本で過ごし、広島、長崎を訪れて被爆の実相に衝撃を受けた。それが原点となって、被爆６０年を迎えた０５年に行脚を企画した。

The 2,500-kilometer-long journey began on July 16, 2005, the test date anniversary, and ended on Aug. 9, the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Upon arrival at Trinity Site, the borrowed flame was ceremoniously extinguished as 125 people, including Japanese monks, those from various religious groups as well as American citizens who were exposed to radiation near nuclear test sites, looked on. The 25-day trip was made into a one hour, 40 minute film titled "Atomic Flame" (titled "Gate" in Japanese).
　初の実験があった７月１６日にサンフランシスコを出発し、２５００キロの旅の終わりは長崎原爆の日の８月９日。事前交渉では無理だと思っていた軍事施設「サイト」の扉が開き、同行した日本人僧侶のほか各宗教の関係者、米国の核実験場の風下で被ばくした人たちなど１２５人が見守る中、法要後に火は消された。

The film sparked a reaction when it was shown in August 2007. At a special screening for war veterans -- said to be one of the most conservative groups in the United States -- one viewer was heard asking, "What have we done?" Taylor said that the people participating in the walking tour were not shouting out antiwar slogans, just walking. Their actions, he said, became a prayer for peace, and were likely to draw further empathy.
　０７年８月に上映されると反響を呼んだ。米国で最も保守的とされる退役軍人を対象にした試写会では「私たちは何ということをしたのか」との声が上がったという。「反戦を叫ぶわけではなく、ただ歩く。それが平和への祈りとなり、共感も広がるのでしょう」

The film continues to be shown at universities across Japan following a screening at Nagasaki University. Taylor said that the real beginning of the film was Nagasaki. He said the people of Nagasaki continue to pray that they would be the last city ever subjected to an atomic bomb attack, and that he wanted to open the gate of people's hearts through the film.
　日本では、２月の長崎大を皮切りに全国の大学で上映会を続ける。「映画の原点は、実は長崎。長崎の人たちは『ここを最後の被爆地に』と祈り続けている。私も映画を通じて多くの人の心の扉、ゲートを開けたい」＜文と写真・錦織祐一＞

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　■人物略歴
Matt Taylor is a television producer, and is a representative of the Global Nuclear Disarmament Fund. His age has been withheld.
　米国のテレビプロデューサー。ＮＧＯ「世界核兵器解体基金」代表を務める。年齢非公表。

毎日新聞　2009年3月4日　東京朝刊