An advance screening of the movie ``Joppari Nursing Person Miki Hanada'' will be held on March 17th at the Hirosaki Cultural Center (Shimo Shirogane-cho, Hirosaki City) large hall.

This film is based on the life of the late Miki Hanada, who is said to be ``Aomori's legendary public health nurse,'' and will be screened for the first time in Hirosaki. Takumi Igarashi, who served as the director, was born in Aomori and graduated from Hirosaki High School. Hanada had the experience of saving his life when he was a child, and decided to create the work to send encouragement to medical workers struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Igarashi's representative works include the feature-length documentary film ``SAWADA,'' which won the Cultural Film Grand Prix at the Mainichi Film Contest, ``If You Step on a Mine, Say Goodbye,'' and ``The Tower of Shimamori.'' The performers include actress Konohana, who graduated from Hirosaki University, and entertainer Ourin, who is from Hirosaki, as well as other cast members with ties to Hirosaki. On the day of the screening, Igarashi will be on stage to greet the audience.

A portion of the film's production funds were raised through crowdfunding, which received more than double the target amount. This screening was made possible by Sachiko Kamakura, a Hirosaki native who served as the producer of the crowdfunding project, and approached Shoichi Imaizumi, director of the Hirosaki Art Appreciation Association.

Imaizumi smiles and says, ``Many people with connections to Hirosaki are involved in the production.I want people who want to pursue a career in nursing and local people to see it.''

There will be two screenings at 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm (doors open 30 minutes before). The price is 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for students. Tickets will be sold at Hirosaki Art Appreciation Society (Momokokucho 2, TEL 0172-40-4082 ).