Nitto-sponsored movie being shown as airline's in-flight feature

Nitto is partnering with All Nippon Airways (ANA) to screen the film "Snow Dream – Roots of Sapporo Snow Festival" for the airline's international and domestic passengers.

Running through February as in-flight entertainment, the 21-minute documentary discusses the origins of the festival: After World War II, the city of Sapporo was left in ruins and suffering. To lift the city’s spirit, a group of inexperienced high school students took it upon themselves to rebuild the city by using the local climate and season as inspiration. As a result, they built the first snow statues that would eventually become known as the Sapporo Snow Festival.

For more than 60 years, the event has been a favorite destination for local Japanese along with visitors from overseas. It features intricate and complex snow and ice sculptures created by local residents, students and international professional teams.

Nitto worked with the film makers to document and interview the festival’s creators – whom are now in their 90s – to ensure that the city’s rich history would be preserved for generations to come, according to Tomo Mizutani, president of Nitto Tire USA.

Impressed with the film and its interesting history, ANA’s Los Angeles general manager, Hirotaka Hattori, volunteered to feature the film as part of the airline’s in-flight entertainment.

“Sapporo is a huge part of Nitto’s culture, as our winter tire test track, Saroma Tire Proving Ground has been located in Hokkaido for 19 years,” Mizutani says. “We are proud, active members of the community and wanted to support this film project and make sure that the city and the unique history of its local festival will never be forgotten.”

For more information, visit www.nittotire.com.