John Junkerman

John Junkerman is an American documentary filmmaker, living in Tokyo. His first film, “Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima,” was a portrait of Japanese atomic-bomb artists Maruki Iri and Toshi. Coproduced with John W. Dower, the film was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival. This was followed by a Siglo production, “Uminchu: The Old Man and the East China Sea,” which portrayed the life of an 81 year-old marlin fisherman on a small Okinawan island. Junkerman directed the Emmy award-winning “Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden,” produced by the Smithsonian. He also produced and directed “The Mississippi: River of Song,” a four-part Smithsonian series for PBS about American roots music along the Mississippi, broadcast in 1999.

Filmography

1986

"Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima" (Producer, director, writer)

  • Documentary on Japanese atomic-bomb artists Iri Maruki and Toshi Maruki.  PBS broadcast 1987.  Academy Award nominee, Feature Documentary; Grand Prize, SF Film Festival; Gold Prize, 30th Competition for Films on Japan.

1990

"Uminchu: The Old Man and the East China Sea" (Director)

  • A feature documentary about a marlin fisherman on Yonaguni, an island at the southwest extreme of the Japanese archipelago.  Produced by Siglo, Ltd., Tokyo. Grand Prize, New England Film Festival.

1992

"Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden" (Director)

  • An hour-long film on the aesthetics and philosophy of Japanese gardens, for the Smithsonian Institution.  PBS broadcast, November 1992.  Emmy Award; CINE Golden Eagle; Special Jury Award, SF Film Festival.

1999

"The Mississippi: River of Song" (Producer, director)

  • A four-part series for public television and radio, featuring contemporary music performance along the length of the Mississippi River. Broadcast nationally on PBS. A coproduction of the Smithsonian Institution, Filmmakers Collaborative, and KajimaVision Productions. Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation.

2002

“Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times” (Director)

  • A feature documentary on the veteran American political dissident and his perspective on terrorism and the exercise of American power. Produced by Siglo, Ltd., Tokyo. Released theatrically in Japan, the US, Australia, and Europe. Best Documentary, Japan Film PEN Club; Japan Catholic Film Award.

2005

“Japan’s Peace Constitution” (Director)

  • A feature documentary on the history and political significance of the pacifist constitution, and the current controversy surrounding efforts to revise its no-war provisions. Produced by Siglo, Ltd., Tokyo. Released theatrically in Japan. Best Documentary, Kinema Jumpo Awards; Best Documentary, Japan Film PEN Club.