Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, FBI agents appeared at Japanese American homes with guns and bayonets and began arresting Issei immigrants without cause and threw them in local jails. “They just grabbed him,” said Laura Miho, remembering how the FBI took her father, Koichi Iida. “We were all so scared. We […]
Archives for February 2022
A story of many communities in ‘Manzanar Diverted’
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Though known as a dusty desert and a site of injustice for Japanese Americans, filmmaker Ann Kaneko delved into the intricate history of water rights and the people of California’s Owens Valley in “Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust.” The documentary primarily focuses on the Paiute and Shoshone people who have lived in the region, […]
Four short films take artistic look at camp
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Four short films at the 11th annual Films of Remembrance will highlight filmmakers’ artistic interpretations of the wartime experience of Japanese Americans during World War II. Under the Artistic Interpretations Shorts Program, the Nichi Bei Foundation will present “Hanami” (4 min., 2021) by Lisa Maeda; “An Uninterrupted View of the Sea” (15 min., 2020) by […]
Filmmaker seeks to educate about L.A.’s racist past
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Former educator and “Putting Them Where They Could Do No Harm” filmmaker Steve Nagano seeks to rename Fletcher Bowron Square, which is named after the former Los Angeles mayor who supported the wartime incarceration of persons of Japanese decent in U.S. concentration camps. The Nichi Bei Weekly interviewed Nagano via e-mail about his short film […]
‘Reparations’ explores struggle to atone for slavery
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
In Jon Osaki’s film, “Reparations,” Blacks and Asian Americans address the four-century struggle to atone for slavery in the U.S., and discuss the critical role that solidarity between communities plays in addressing systemic racism in America. Osaki, an award-winning filmmaker and director of “Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066,” spoke to the Nichi […]
Japan film ‘Drive My Car’ nominated for best picture, 3 other Oscars
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film “Drive My Car” was nominated Feb. 8 in four categories including best picture for the 94th U.S. Academy Awards, becoming the first Japanese film to land the prestigious Oscar nomination. The adaptation of a short story by Japanese author Haruki Murakami was also nominated for best director, best adapted screenplay […]
11th annual Films of Remembrance to feature films on wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
The Nichi Bei Foundation presents the 11th annual Films of Remembrance, a showcase of films commemorating the 80th anniversary of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during WWII. The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 26 and […]
Minidoka survivors on U.S. government’s violation of Americans’ civil rights
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Producer Rory Banyard’s film, “Betrayed: Surviving An American Concentration Camp,” explores the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans by the United States government during World War II. The Nichi Bei Foundation will screen the film online during its 11th annual Films of Remembrance Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. PST. The film may be viewed through […]
Bay Area Homecoming: New Nikkei KPIX anchor feels at home in the Bay Area
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
After more than two decades since leaving the San Francisco Bay Area, Ryan Yamamoto comes home to serve as KPIX 5’s new evening news anchor as of Jan. 6. The Sansei journalist, born and raised in the East Bay and an alumni of Pinole Valley High School and San Francisco State University, comes home to […]
American of Japanese descent advances racial equity from White House
February 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON — Erika Moritsugu, 49, is among the many Asian Americans in the United States who have experienced hate crimes since the coronavirus pandemic began two years ago. She was waiting at a bus stop with her son after school when a man screamed threatening racist abuse and spat at her. Since the incident in […]
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