Dan Kuramoto

The film looks back at the life of a man named Oda and other Japanese Americans through the decades as they face great challenges and joys living in the United States.

This important tribute to the issei (first generation Japanese Americans) integrates the stories of three people who describe a collective history through their personal memories.

This movie explores the possibilities of interaction between man and computer, with some historical background. It demonstrates techniques introduced in the Disney movie Tron (1982), combining computer-synthesized animation and real-life object photography.

Modern kite maker Tom Joe seeks to preserve the craft of kite making as well as the traditional Asian folklore behind it. Alan Takemoto illustrates Tom Joe’s tales of the Polynesian fish kite made from leaves and branches to fool fish; the Chinese general whose trapped army fashioned a fighting kite; and Shirone, the “kite crazy town” in Japan where 20-foot fighting kites duel in magnificent matches. Children will be inspired to try making these kites.

This black-and-white documentary weaves scenes of Japanese American poet and professor Lawson Inada’s life with his writing. Titled after one of his poems, I TOLD YOU SO follows Inada to Fresno, California for a childhood reunion. Shots of his multicultural childhood neighborhood show downtown graffiti, bars, and the Nisei Barber Shop. Inada runs into his aunt, one of the subjects of his poems where she asks, “All this identity thing. What is it you’re looking for?” Inada’s answer is in his poem, “Nightsongs in Asian America” that addresses the active residence to World War II incarceration and his relationship with his son.