Screening and talk on the documentary film Green Mountain about the local residents’ movement over the planned construction of a radioactive waste disposal site in Switzerland

December 15, 2022

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, a TUFS Cinema screening of the Swiss documentary film Green Mountain was held at the Agora Global Prometheus Hall.

This documentary film, directed by Freddy M. Murer, is about the residents of an Alpine mountainous region in the 1980s, where a plan to build a radioactive waste disposal site was proposed. The film follows both those in favor of the project and those opposed to it who are trying to protect their land.

After the screening of the film, Assistant Professor Takako Furukawa, who specializes in European and Austrian history and Alpinism and was in charge of dubbing and subtitling the film, explained the process of the residents’ movement and the Swiss direct democracy that was behind the success of the movement. She also talked about the daily life of the Swiss people and their strong interest in and sense of responsibility for politics. During the Q&A session, the participants exchanged opinions on their impressions of the film and the Swiss social system. Assistant Professor Furukawa said, “It is important for each one of us to raise our awareness of the energy we use and to discuss and think about it.”