E.R. (1994-2009) was one of the most famous television series and the first one set inside a hospital. The episode “Ambush”, filmed by Thomas Schlamme in 1997, is structured as a “meta-story”, in which a camera crew documents a classic day experienced by the staff of the emergency room. Tansa is an independent, nonprofit, investigative newsroom based in Tokyo. The short feature “Abandoned at Futaba Hospital,” released on YouTube, explores the case of the disused hospital in Okuma, the town that hosted the first Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. The video includes interviews with former staff members and family members of victims who were abandoned during the evacuation of the spaces due to the nuclear emergency.
ABANDONED AT FUTABA HOSPITAL
3’, 2018
Japanese version with English subtitles
Nation: Japan
Distribution: Tansa Jp
During the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, 50 patients at Futaba Hospital and an adjoining retirement home lost their lives after being abandoned as the area was evacuated. But even 10 years later, no one has been held accountable for the mismanaged evacuation.
ER – AMBUSH (DIRITTO DI IMMAGINE)
60’, 1997
Italian version
Director: Thomas Schlamme
Main cast: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies Country: U.S.A.
Distribution: Warner Bors. Italia – Sky Italia
A TV crew intrudes on Chicago’s County General Hospital to film a documentary on the emergency department led by Dr Mark Greene. Dr Greene himself reacts aggressively to the cameramen’s invasive presence, while head of nursing Carol Hathaway and head of emergency paediatrics Dr Doug Ross try to keep their relationship a secret.