2006年VOA标准英语-'Abduction' -- A Tale of Independent Filmmaking

By Elaine Lu
Washington, D.C.
22 August 2006
 
watch Abduction report

A tale of abduction, a compassionate¹ couple of filmmakers, and the birth of an independent documentary film. 

 
Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim 
  
At their apartment in Washington D.C., Patty Kim and Chris Sheridan are packing for their weekend trip for filmmaking.  

Kim was born in Korea, and Sheridan is a Canadian. They are a couple that gave up a stable lifestyle to pursue their dream of independent filmmaking. 

"Just before we did this we are both working with National Geographic² channel. I was a producer, Patty was a correspondent," said Chris.

A story about Japanese abductees forever changed their lives, said Patty. "We heard about what had happened in 2002 and something about it really intrigued³ us and it stay with us actually for few years"

"We heard the story and we were so moved by it that we kind of just left our jobs and decided⁴ to go and do this," Chris added. 

 
Megumi Yokota
  
In 2004, the North Korean regime acknowledged for the first time that North Korean spies abducted⁵ 13 Japanese civilians⁶ in the 1970s to train their agents to better impersonate Japanese. 

Among them was Megumi Yokota a 13-year-old schoolgirl who seemed to have vanished into thin air one afternoon in 1977.  The truth of her abduction was not confirmed until 1989. The story deeply touched Kim and Sheridan.

Chris explained what they did.  "So we contacted the families, in particular we contacted the family of Megumi Yokota and immediately they said yes, they wanted to do something and we just kind of took it from there.

The journey started with a trip to Japan to meet Megumi's family in 2003.

"We took our camera and ourselves and our credit cards and flew to Japan and did what a lots of crazy western independent filmmakers would do, they just do it," said Patty.

Three trips to Japan between 2003 and 2005, more than one hundred tapes filmed, and the documentary entitled "Abduction The Megumi Yokota Story" is born.

Another image of Megumi Yokota from the documentary  
  
The 85-minute film covers a span of almost three decades.  By jumping back and forth⁷ in time, the film documents how families of the abductees learned about their loved ones' disappearance⁸ and campaigned for their release, often at the expense of their otherwise normal personal lives.

As a result, five abductees were returned in 2002. The remaining eight were announced dead, including Megumi Yokota.

"We want to tell a human story about their grief, their suffering, their loss. Those are things that anybody anywhere in the world can understand," Patty told us.

Abduction was featured in a number of film festivals, including the 2006 Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Maryland Film Festival.  It also received an audience award in the best documentary category at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival.   But it has not been an easy path.

 
Takuya Yokota, center, talks with his mother, Sakie Yokota, right, on Capitol Hill, prior to her testifying before a House Committee hearing on North
Korean abductions (April 27, 2006) 
  
"Most people think when you finished a film, when you finished editing and you showed it at your first film festival, that you are done, it's all over," explained Chris. "But actually the whole story of making a film is just beginning. You are just starting.  There is no money coming in, you are just continuously putting in money.  In fact you put as much in when you are promoting it and marketing⁹ it as you did while you were making it."

Despite the difficulties, Patty says the experience was worth it. "It's so amazing; it's the people you meet along the way. It's the journey of making it that's so tremendous. It's not just the finished film; it's how you got there which is something that will stay with us forever."

1 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

2 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。