Lost & Found (film screening)

Lost & Found

Wednesday, April 15, 6:00PM (ET)

Doors open 5:30PM | Film Screening | In-Person | JFT Event Hall

Directed by John Choi & Nicolina Lanni • 2016 • Documentary • 82 minutes • Presented in Japanese & English

Join us for a special National Canadian Film Day screening of the documentary Lost & Found, in memory of the 15th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by the largest earthquake in its recorded history. The ensuing tsunami engulfed over 90 cities, killing more then 18,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of families homeless.  Millions of tons of debris pulled into the Pacific Ocean that day and floated towards the Pacific North West. Entire homes, boats, the remnants of people’s lives lost to sea. 

Then the unimaginable happened – just under one year later, the first of the tsunami debris started washing ashore in North America and beachcombers did not let it go unnoticed.  People all across the Pacific North West started finding items washed ashore from the Japanese tsunami and became determined to trace them back to their original owners. Lost & Found follows the epic adventures of regular citizens who leave their small towns (some for the first time) to travel to Japan in hopes to reunite people with some small piece of their past. 


People across 3 countries, 2 continents, who are separated by the largest body of water on earth are coming together to share in the memories, mourn the loses and find great joy in the reuniting of something once thought to be lost forever but has now been found. 

Please note: this film contains footages of the tsunami, and deals with natural disaster, loss, and death.

After the screening, director Nicolina Lanni will join for a Q&A.

Free admission. Registration required.

Registration will open on Thursday March 26, at 12PM.

*Please note that JFT staff will be taking photographs during this event for promotional and documentation purposes. If you prefer not to be photographed, please feel free to let a staff member know. Thank you for your understanding.

Supported by: 

Directors Profile:

JOHN SEONGHO CHOI is an award-winning Canadian Korean filmmaker with over 25 years of experience as a filmmaker. His work has been featured on major platforms such as Netflix Originals, Prime, YouTube Originals, CBC, NHK Japan, SBS Australia, and more. Throughout his career, John has worked on a wide range of projects, from independent films to Hollywood studio productions, commercials, and music videos. He is passionate about filmmaking and brings a unique, authentic, and meaningful perspective to every project.

John’s directorial accomplishments were recognized with the 2024 Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction – Documentary Series for “DARK SIDE OF COMEDY.” His other recent projects include the A&E series “THE ELEVEN,” CBC “BEAVERS FROM ABOVE” and feature documentaries “LOST & FOUND,” “K-POP EVOLUTION,” and the Netflix Original series “THE RAINCOAT KILLER.”

NICOLINA LANNI is a film and television producer with over 15 years of experience in the industry, working across a wide variety of programming as both a director and producer.

Nicolina is the co-founder of Good Chemistry Films. Prior to this, she led Unscripted Development at the Peabody and Emmy Award–winning production company Banger Films. Earlier in her career, she co-founded Frank Films, producing feature documentaries and premium branded content. She oversaw an extensive slate of branded partnerships, producing and directing content for major global brands including VICE White Label, KLM, CIBC, Loblaws, Toyota, Adidas, and Scotiabank.

She began her career in radio at CBC, working on Q during its inaugural year — the network’s flagship daily arts & culture show. She subsequently moved into documentary and true crime shaping stand-out series as a producer and director. Some of her credits include: The Eleven (A+E), Manson (Apple TV+), featuring the first in-depth interview with Linda Kasabian, and Nazi Hunters (Nat Geo), which gained unprecedented access to former Mossad agents responsible for hunting and capturing high-ranking Nazis.

Nicolina’s work has taken her across five continents to produce and direct powerful human stories — from filming with K-pop superstars BTS in Seoul, to returning belongings carried across the Pacific by the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Nicolina’s work has screened at top tier festivals including Hot Docs, Victoria International, Portland and Hawaii, and has reached global audiences via Netflix, Amazon, CBC, Paramount+, Discovery, Nat Geo, YouTube Premium, and more.

A passionate advocate for equity in the industry, Nicolina co-founded Film Fatales Canada in 2015, the national chapter of the global collective dedicated to supporting and amplifying women and non-binary directors.