MINAMATA | Film Screening, Bucharest Photofest 2025

Title: MINAMATA
Director: ANDREW LEVITAS
Cast: JOHNNY DEPP, HIROYUKI SANADA
Duration: 1h 15m
Country: USA, UK, UAE
Year: 2020

New York, 1971. Following his celebrated days as one of the most revered photojournalists of World War II, W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But a secret commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) sends him to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation.

There, Smith immerses himself in the community, documenting their efforts to live with Minamata Disease and their passionate campaign to achieve recognition from Chisso and the Japanese government. Armed with only his trusted camera, Smith’s images from the toxic village give the disaster a heartbreaking human dimension, and his initial assignment turns into a life-changing experience.

Based on the riveting true story, MINAMATA is a redemptive and emotional tale of triumph over adversity, and of how all of us have it within ourselves to make a difference.

"A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes — just sometimes — one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness.”

— W. Eugene Smith, 1974