Before They Take Us Away

Chronicles the untold stories of Japanese Americans who “voluntarily” evacuated from the West Coast in the wake of Executive Order 9066. Despite their freedom, they became refugees in their own country and faced isolation, poverty and racial violence in a struggle to rebuild their lives.

About the Director
Antonia Grace Glenn is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her first film, “The Ito Sisters: An American Story,” which chronicles the lives of her grandmother and great-aunts, has been broadcast on more than 200 PBS stations around the country and has been an Official Selection of 11 film festivals, winning six awards. Her second documentary, “Before They Take Us Away,” which follows the lives of Japanese American “self-evacuees” during World War II, premiered on PBS KVIE in Sacramento in May 2022 and has been an Official Selection of six film festivals, winning three awards. Glenn’s third film will be “In Our Place” (upcoming), which examines the intersections of African American, Japanese American and Native American communities during World War II and their shared experience of displacement, migration and cultural erasure. She holds a BA from Wellesley College, an MFA in Acting from USC and a Ph.D. in Theatre & Drama from the University of California, San Diego.

Plays in

Untold Stories

UNTOLD STORIES reveals the plight of Japanese Americans who “voluntary” relocated from the West Coast, only to face…