A screening and talk show of "Paper Cranes," produced by TAKADA Taiga and NAKAJIMA Tomi, (both are students at AICJ High School), was held at NTT Credo Hall No. 2 on Saturday, November 25, from 11:00 a.m. Ms. NISHIZAKI Tomoko of the Hiroshima Film Commission moderated the event.

One thousand paper cranes were folded by 30 Cuban elementary school students. A volunteer nurse university student brought back the paper cranes as the large package and brought them to Honkawa Elementary School (Naka Ward, Hiroshima City), near the A-bombed area. Then, on August 5, students representing the school and a Cuban embassy staff member and his wife dedicated the paper cranes to the "Atomic bomb child statue". This footage was filmed and edited into this film, "Origami Cranes".

It all began when two students studying film at the school emailed Ms. NISHIZAKI, saying they wanted to use their skills to experience the field. However, there were no plans for location shooting at that time, so she suggested that they shoot this news; about a thousand paper cranes. The film was shot and edited in between preparations for school events and was unveiled at the Hiroshima International Film Festival 2023.

Though brief and concise, the film shows interaction between children from both countries through origami cranes, and the audience applauded the film. The title of the film, "Origami Crane," was explained as "a tool to connect people (TAKADA)" and as "a symbol of peace (NAKAJIMA)”. Ms. NISHIZAKI added information about why Cuban children know about Hiroshima. She explained that Ché Guevara visited the Peace Park and since the Cuban Missile Crisis, peace education has been emphasized there and Hiroshima was introduced on two pages of the textbook at school.

Then a question came from the audience, "Do you have any plans to further brush up on this film?" He replied, "I don't have time right now, but I would like to do it if possible." To the question, "What did you understand after you finished this film?" They answered honestly, "I gained a broader perspective on the world (Nakajima)," and "I was surprised that there is a peace study program in Cuba (Takada)."

In closing, they said, "I am grateful for this opportunity. I would like to use this experience and self-reflection in the next step (Nakajima)" and "I would like to improve based on this experience (Takada)." Both of them showed their ambition, and Ms. Nishizaki expressed her happiness with a smile.