Images: Director Satō Sonomi Explores the 2011 Tsunami Aftermath in Two Films

(Left) Haru o kasanete (Spring After Spring Passes Us By). Anata no hitomi ni hanasetara (If These Letters Reach Your Eyes). (© Satō Sonomi)

A scene from Haru o kasanete (Spring After Spring Passes Us By). (© Satō Sonomi)

Saitō Sae, who plays Yūmi, moved to Ishinomaki during elementary school and joined a local drama group. (© Satō Sonomi)

Yūmi and Rei (played by Saitō Keika) both lost little sisters, but deal with it in different ways. (© Satō Sonomi)

Yūmi meets Ayari (played by Akiyama Taichi), a student volunteer from Tokyo. (© Satō Sonomi)

A shot in the Ōkawa Elementary School library. (© Satō Sonomi)

Ōkawa Elementary School before the decision to preserve it, as seen in Satō’s university graduation work, Anata no hitomi ni hanasetara (If These Letters Reach Your Eyes). Local volunteers formed a special group to show visitors around the site. (© Satō Sonomi)

The director reads a series of letters composed to her sister, in a film depicting Ōkawa and its residents. (© Satō Sonomi)

The “miracle boy” Tetsuya, who made news after he survived when he was swept away while fleeing the tsunami, also makes an appearance, reading a letter written to his fifth grade classmates. (© Satō Sonomi)