A newly restored 16 mm print of “Hito Hata: Raise the Banner” (1980) will be screened on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m. at East West Players, 120 Judge John Aiso St. in Little Tokyo.
Co-presented by the Japanese American National Museum, Visual Communications, and Los Angeles Filmforum, “Hito Hata” is the first feature film produced by and about Asian Americans.
This poignant drama chronicles the contributions and hardships of Japanese Americans from the turn of the century to the late 1970s. This history is told by Oda, a feisty Issei, one of the elderly bachelor laborers living in Little Tokyo.
Oscar and Tony nominee Mako leads the cast, which also includes Pat Morita, Yuki Shimoda, Hiroshi Kashiwagi, Tad Horino, Sab Shimono and Sachiko. Robert Nakamura and Duane Kubo directed. A Q&A session with Nakamura will follow the screening.
This event is being held in conjunction with the JANM exhibition “Drawing the Line: Japanese American Art, Design and Activism in Post-War Los Angeles,” which runs through Feb. 19. Admission is free. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.