A Word With "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Producer/Director Jonathan Bellés

Above, Jonathan Bellés.

My grandfather (on my dad's side) came from the island of Mallorca (Majorca), Spain. Spain is also where Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga producer and director Jonathan Bellés comes from. Specifically, he was born in Castellón, which is on the Spanish mainland near the island of Mallorca.

Now Bellés is based in Valencia, Spain where his production company, Producciones 451 is headquartered.

I asked him if there are many kaiju fans in Spain and he says there are. "In Spain, there many kaiju fans. In fact, I am the co-founder of the website www.godzillaencastellano.com.  It was founded in February 2003," he says.

Many people remembered the 50th anniversary of Godzilla events in Hollywood back in 2004. Fans in Spain also commemorated the anniversary in 2004.

"In 2004, Angel Sala, the Catalonian director of The International Fantasy Film Festival (in Sitges, Barcelona), screened several Godzilla movies because of 50th anniversary of Godzilla," said Bellés.

On the Godzilla documentary, Bellés said that it will also include Gamera, Ultraman and other monsters in the genre.  Financing for the documentary is limited as it is a doctoral project for him. He plans to travel to Japan, United States and elsewhere to interview actors, producers, critics and others for the documentary.

In Japan, besides interviewing, he plans to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Lucky Dragon No. 5 exhibit in Tokyo. "I want to travel to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Museum mainly. I will visit the Lucky Dragon No. 5 also," said Bellés.

He hopes to have Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga completed and released by summer 2014.