The Nisei Farmer (film)

Short dramatic film about a Nisei couple, Hank (Steven Kondo) and Aki (Jude Narita), who farm in Northern California. When news of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 spreads, Hank becomes morose and angry, as it triggers boyhood memories of his family's incarceration, which are shown in flashback scenes. He also lashes out at Aki, who did not go to camp, when she suggests they use the money to go on a vacation. But after further thought and reflection on the incarceration and redress, he recognizes the source of his anger and comes around to the idea of going away.

Filmmaker Dean Yamada grew up in Davis, California, and made The Nisei Farmer as a thesis film for his MFA at the University of Southern California, with the help of grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Caucus Foundation. The project was inspired by his Nisei father, who was a farmer in Davis and who was incarcerated at Tule Lake as a boy. Yamada shot the film in Davis, incorporating locations that his father frequented. The film won the grand prize for Best Short Film at the 2003 Rhode Island International Film Festival, a CINE Golden Eagle, and a Gold Remi at Worldfest Houston.

Might also like Family Gathering (1988); Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm (2015); Emi (1979)