Episode 349: In The Seats With...Andrew Levitas and 'Minamata'

We often forget how much a single image can actually tell us...On this episode we're diving into a painful chapter in our world's history in the film 'Minamata'.Celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) goes against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan in 1971. With the glory days of World War II far behind him, Smith has become a recluse. Between an impassioned Japanese translator called Aileen (Minami) urging him to go and a much needed commission from "Life" Magazine editor Ralph Graves (Bill Nighy), Smith is finally convinced to journey back to Japan to expose the devastating annihilation of a coastal community, victims of corporate greed and complicit local police and government. Armed with only his trusted Nikon camera, Smith must find the images that will bring this story to the World.We had the unique pleasure of sitting down with co-writer and director Andrew Levitas to talk about the origins of making the film, the unique nature of diving into history, working with Johnny Depp, the importance of reminding the world that this story is still unfolding and so very much more.