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.
A short documentary about PJ & 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
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
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)
PJ & 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.
- Year2023
- Runtime30 minutes
- DirectorDoug Menuez
- ProducerPear Urushima
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.
A short documentary about PJ & 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
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
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)
PJ & 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.
- Year2023
- Runtime30 minutes
- DirectorDoug Menuez
- ProducerPear Urushima