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shareFrom discovering what became of the barracks that housed Japanese Americans during the war, or groundbreaking documentaries on the Minidoka concentration camp or incarceration in Canada, these films shed light on little-known stories.
In this program
“Moving Walls”
“Moving Walls” (2017, 25 min.) by Sharon Yamato. The story of what happened to the barracks used to house 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Focusing on the Heart Mountain concentration camp, the film tells the story of how they were sold for a dollar apiece to homesteaders in Wyoming. Out of an American nightmare, the barracks became part of the American dream.
“A Flicker in Eternity”
“A Flicker in Eternity” (2012, 25 min.) by Ann Kaneko, Sharon Yamato. A coming-of-age tale of Stanley Hayami, a talented young teenager caught between his dream of becoming a writer/artist and his duty to his country. Based on Hayami’s own diary, this documentary is the firsthand account of a 15-year-old thrust into the turmoil of WWII. Through Hayami’s endearing cartoons and witty observations, this film chronicles his life behind barbed wire and as a soldier in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
“Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp”
“Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp” (2019, 30 min.) by Rory Banyard. Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their Pacific Northwest homes during WWII and then put on trains to a concentration camp in the desert of southern Idaho.
“Hatsumi: One Grandmother’s Journey Through the Japanese Canadian Internment”
“Hatsumi: One Grandmother’s Journey Through the Japanese Canadian Internment” (2012, 55 min.) by Chris Hope. The journey of discovery for Nancy Okura and her grandson as they travel through the locations of the Japanese Canadian incarceration, and she tells the story of her experience for the first time. Her story comes to life in vivid detail, leading grandmother and grandson through the Japanese Canadian incarceration, across Canada and, unexpectedly, around the world.
