The wartime incarceration and its consequences are captured in creative and artistic shorts in this program, from an animated short on the Japanese Canadian incarceration, to history caught through the lens of a treasured household item, to a short narrative tying Native Americans and Japanese Americans, to a quest for identity and purpose by taiko legends.

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. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/7dd94fc149b87a1c30002c995c4c48f4.jpg" width="96" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">NATALIE MURAO is a Yonsei (fourth generation) Japanese Canadian filmmaker and educator based in “Vancouver." She aims to expand the notion of Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself. Her films have played at Sundance, TIFF Next Wave, Palm Springs ShortFest and more. In tandem with filmmaking, she has facilitated educational programs for local institutes such as The Cinematheque and VIFF.

Blue Garden

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. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/a548e199ce981ac2088e2f2b2dab40b4.jpg" width="120" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">GEORGE WADA is one of those suppressed aerospace engineers whose imagination and creativity has been unleashed through the Visual Communications Digital History (seniors) program. His late night binges on YouTube helps inspire films on the Asian American community. He is currently documenting personal oral histories of Asian American Vietnam Era veterans for inclusion in the Library of Congress. His long suffering wife is happy as long as she is not featured in any of his films.

Traveling Rice Pot

A Japanese American incarcerated in an Indigenous reservation during WWII forms an unlikely friendship with a Mohave Indian. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/0d07832409a1709051f9790c24e5f849.jpg" width="120" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">MARLENE SHIGEKAWA is a writer/director/film producer who produced the short, live action film, “The Blue Jay,” and the feature documentary film, “For the Sake of the Children,” which has screened throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the executive director of the Poston Community Alliance, a nonprofit organization that preserves the legacy of the former Poston incarceration camp. Her published work includes children’s books about her family’s incarceration experience — “Blue Jay in the Desert” and “Welcome Home Swallows.” Her high-tech work in Silicon Valley led to her published book – “Succeeding in High Tech: A Guide to Building Your Career.” She earned a B.A. in English from the University of California, Riverside and a M.S. in counseling from the California State University, East Bay.

The Blue Jay

A short documentary about PJ &amp; 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. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/364045ac081d47c1ac6c4c1ad999796d.jpg" width="96" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Doug Menuez is an American artist whose varied career over 35 years has ranged from documentary to commissioned work. His career began at The Washington Post in 1981 and progressed to freelancing for Time, Newsweek, LIFE, Fortune, The New York Times and other publications for 20 years covering the homeless crisis, Ethiopian famine, Oakland drug wars, Olympics, and AIDS crisis. His portraits include Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Lenny Kravitz, Robert Redford, Mother Tereza and Presidents Clinton and George Bush, Sr. Menuez gained exclusive access to Steve Jobs and the greatest innovators of Silicon Valley to document the digital revolution from 1985-2000. In 2004, Stanford University Library acquired his extensive archive. ﻿ABOUT THE PRODUCER<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/a49a39cb19c1c2989d8dd1f6ea3a6154.jpg" width="96" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Pear Urushima is an award-winning third-generation Japanese-American filmmaker originally from Los Angeles. She directs, produces, and writes multimedia content, all with a keen eye for details and aesthetics. Throughout her 25+ years of Silicon Valley high-tech marketing and branding experience, she has solved innumerable creative challenges. Her creative collaborations in film and art exhibit her passion for supporting local communities of color, furthering the arts and culture, and advancing social justice. ABOUT THE PANELIST(S)<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e5409214ebdd16bc03d32e22c4f17c4d.jpg" width="96" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">PJ &amp; ROY HIRABAYASHI are best known as North American taiko pioneers, performers, mentors, and composers who catalyzed taiko as an Asian American musical genre during their 38 years leading performing arts company, San Jose Taiko, which Roy co-founded in 1973. In their respective former roles as executive director and artistic director, Roy and PJ were instrumental in establishing the practices, rituals, work ethic, originality and performance excellence that San Jose Taiko is known for and often emulated today. In 2023, Roy and PJ celebrated their 50 years of playing taiko.

Because of You, I Am

Artistic Interpretations Streaming

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These are all the passes tied to your account. For the in-person screenings in San Francisco and San Jose, you will be provided with a wristband that will give you access to the film programs. For streaming passes, go to the Virtual Program to redeem your pass for access to the programs. 

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Passes

Virtual streaming for these programs will be available from February 24 through March 10, 2024. Note, however, virtual screenings do NOT include panel discussions or performance. Each program is accessible for a $10 fee. Discounted All-Access passes are available on the Passes page on the event website.

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