?
SAN FRANCISCO — Nichi Bei Foundation presents the 13thannual Films of Remembrance, the premier showcase of films commemorating the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during World War II.
This year, films are once again being offered in three venues — the AMC Kabuki 8 Theater, 1881 Post St. in San Francisco’s Japantown, on Saturday, Feb. 24; San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, 640 N. 5thSt. in San Jose’s Japantown, on Sunday, Feb. 25; and virtually from Saturday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, March 10. All-Day or All-Access virtual passes allow the attendee or viewer discounted access to all 12 films.
“The annual Films of Remembrance program is so important because it brings our community to learn and share together,” said Christen Sasaki, Ph.D., an associate professor of ethnic studies at UC San Diego who serves on the Films of Remembrance Committee. “Many times films like this year’s ‘Removed by Force,’ which documents the stories of those who were forcibly removed from their homes in Hawai‘i, sheds light on stories that usually aren’t given that much space in the main narrative of wartime incarceration.”
“I think one of the beautiful things we are seeing is younger generations exploring this history,” said fellow Films of Remembrance Committee member Wendi Yamashita, an assistant professor in Asian American Studies at CSU Sacramento. “Either grappling with their own family history and trauma (‘Blue Garden’) or finding themselves responsible for telling this history despite not having familial ties (‘Omoiyari’), Films of Remembrance not only teaches us about the Japanese American WWII incarceration experience, but it prompts us to consider our roles in continuing to share this history.”
Screenings will be followed by panel discussions with filmmakers, and a filmmakers reception will be held from 8:30 to 10 p.m. at the AMC Kabuki 8 on Feb. 24. Virtual programs will not include panel discussions or performances.
Following are this year’s, including animation, short narratives and short and feature-length documentaries:
Saturday, Feb. 24 (San Francisco)
11 a.m.: War on Citizenship
“Community in Conflict”(45 minutes, 2023) by Claudia Katayanagi. Community leaders set out to create a historical monument acknowledging the WWII internment camp in Santa Fe, N.M., but find themselves embattled by local veterans and fierce opposition. With panelists Nikki Nojima Louis and Sue Rundstrom from New Mexico.
“Nisei”(21 minutes, 2023) by Darren Haruo Rae. Inspired by stories from the director’s grandfather, this film follows the journey of two Japanese American brothers during WWII. Stripped of their citizenship and placed in concentration camps, they volunteer for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to prove their loyalty to a country that doesn’t want them. With panelist actor Jonathan Tanigaki from Southern California.
12:40 p.m.: Untold Stories
“Removed by Force: The Eviction of Hawai?i’s Japanese Americans During WWII” (60 minutes, 2023) by Ryan Kawamoto. Immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, about 1,500 Americans of Japanese ancestry were evicted from their homes by the U.S. government throughout the Territory of Hawai‘i, but not incarcerated or sent to detention facilities. Nearly 40 years later the Japanese American Citizens League helped them seek justice. With panelist William Kaneko, a redress advocate associated with Honolulu JACL.
2:15 p.m.: Artistic Interpetations
“Because of You, I Am”(30 minutes, 2023) by Doug Menuez. A short documentary about PJ and Roy Hirabayashi, two quietly radical Japanese American taiko drummers who defied traditional cultural expectations in their quest for identity and purpose. With panelists Roy and PJ Hirabayashi.
“Blue Garden”(5 minutes, 2022) by Natalie Murao. The history of a Japanese Canadian fisherman during WWII. The film explores how trauma can fester and family stories can remain unspoken for generations. However, the younger generation is able to reconcile their grief and feel empowered to tell their family history.
“The Blue Jay”(14 minutes, 2023) by Marlene Shigekawa. A Japanese American incarcerated in an Indigenous reservation during WWII forms an unlikely friendship with a Mohave Indian.
“Traveling Rice Pot”(7 minutes, 2019) by George Wada. This particular kitchen item followed a family through their history of life on a flower farm, to incarceration, to forced relocation to Japan and their return to American life.
4 p.m.: Life and Death Behind Barbed Wire
“Baseball Behind Barbed Wire”(34 minutes, 2023) by Yuriko Gamo Romer. The story of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans through the uncommon yet popular lens of baseball. Playing baseball was a chance to assert their citizenship and affirm their loyalty as Americans, even as camp guards in towers pointed their rifles inward and the barbed wire kept them confined.
“Missing Pieces”(14 minutes, 2023) by Barbara Kagawa Shore. In a search for answers, the filmmaker discovers how the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in 1942 led to two deaths in her family. With panelist Gwenn Jensen, Ph.D., an oral historian and medical anthropologist from Colorado.
5:45 p.m.: Films of Resistance
“One Fighting Irishman”(30 minutes, 2023) by Sharon Yamato. The story of attorney Wayne M. Collins, whose passionate and uncompromising defense of the Constitution drove him to spend 23 years representing Japanese Americans who renounced their U.S. citizenship while imprisoned at the embattled Tule Lake Segregation Center.
“We Hereby Refuse: The Akutsu Family Resists”(15 minutes, 2023) by Shannon Gee. Adapted from the graphic novel “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration,” this animated film tells the story of the Akutsu family, brothers Gene and Jim and parents Kiyonosuke and Nao. With panelist Frank Abe, writer of “We Hereby Refuse,” from Seattle.
7:15 p.m.: Songs of Remembrance
“Omoiyari”(74 minutes, 2023) by Kishi Bashi. Violinist and songwriter Kishi Bashi embarks on a musical journey to understand WWII-era Japanese American incarceration, assimilation, and what it means to be a minority in America today. Followed by performance by Kishi Bashi.
8:30 p.m.: Filmmakers reception
Sunday, Feb. 25 (San Jose)
11 a.m.: War on Citizenship
12:40 p.m.: Untold Stories
2:15 p.m.: Artistic Interpretations
4 p.m.: Life and Death Behind Barbed Wire
5:45 p.m.: Films of Resistance
7:15 p.m.: Songs of Remembrance
Films of Remembrance is presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation. Presenting Sponsor is The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, Reception Sponsor is the Kinjiro and Eiko Moriguchi Fund. Media Sponsor is the Nichi Bei News.
Tickets to individual programs are $10 in advance ($12 at the door); “Songs of Remembrance” in San Francisco is $25 (includes reception). All-day passes (six screenings) are $60 in San Francisco (limited to 40), including the reception, and $50 in San Jose (limited to 60). All-virtual pass (view from Feb. 24 to March 10) are $50. Students with ID are free (limited) and discounts are available for Nichi Bei Foundation members.
Proceeds benefit the Wayne Maeda Educational Fund; proceeds from ticket sales in San Jose benefit Yu-Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Service and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose.
For more information, including trailers and detailed descriptions of each film, go to: https://2024.filmsofremembrance.org/