Paper City

One night. 100,000 dead.

2021 | Australia, Japan | Adrian Francis | English, Japanese | 80 minutes

Paper City – Screening on Wednesday September 17 at 6:15pm!

Free admission!

Paper City is presented as part of a conference entitled Cartographies of Loss: The Afterlives of War, held at Carleton University from September 15–18, 2025. This documentary tells the stories of three survivors of the United States’ firebombing of Tokyo on the night of March 9–10, 1945, and brings into focus their efforts to restore awareness of Tokyo’s devastation.
Paper City connects with the conference’s exploration of the reasons and methods behind documenting and remembering the ravages of war.
Japanese with English subtitles.

For more information – carleton.ca/cartographies/

*This screening is a rental, normal Mayfair prices do not apply.

*Please take note that doors open 30 minutes before showtimes. We encourage people to arrive early. We have a small box office, a small candy bar, and a single-screen cinema, meaning that when most of an audience shows up a few minutes before showtime, it causes a bottleneck. If possible, we appreciate you arriving a little bit early to pick out your seat and get your popcorn. Thanks for your help!

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.
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