The San Fernando Valley JACL hosts a special screening of Ann Kaneko and Sharon Yamato’s “A Flicker in Eternity,” which chronicles the life and times of Stanley Hayami, a gifted student from San Gabriel who attended high school at the Heart Mountain concentration camp.
It will be accompanied by the short documentary “Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn,” based on the life and work of the renowned author and activist.
The screening will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima. Filmmaker Yamato will be on hand to answer questions from the audience.
Based on Hayami’s diary and letters archived at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, “A Flicker in Eternity” tells the true story of this talented teenager who left Heart Mountain in June 1944 to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and who was caught between his dream of becoming an artist and his duty to his country. This coming-of-age tale chronicles his life behind barbed wire and as a soldier.
Working with producer Joanne Oppenheim (author of “Stanley Hayami: Nisei Son” as well as “Dear Miss Breed”), Kaneko and Yamato drew from Hayami’s diary and letters to his family to capture his humor and imagination through endearing cartoons and witty observations that provide a first-hand look at the indignity of incarceration and the tragedy of war. The film utilizes the vocal talents of noted actors Amy Hill and Aaron Yoo to bring to life the words of Hayami and his sister Sach.
Go For Broke National Education Center Executive Director Don Nose said, “By weaving in historical images, footage and important third-party perspectives, the filmmakers have made this a must-see for anyone interested in the World War II Japanese American experience.”
“A Flicker in Eternity” was recently chosen as one of only 60 films dealing with the topic of “human dignity” to be screened at the United Nations Association Film Festival in Palo Alto. It has also been shown at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City.
Opening the program is “Out of Infamy,” a portrait of a prominent civil rights leader who gave up a successful career in show business to write the seminal 1976 book “Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps.” Incarcerated as a teenager at Gila River in Arizona, Weglyn was the first Nisei to write a book on the topic of the wartime incarceration, having spent years gathering factual evidence to prove U.S. governmental misconduct.
Narrated by actress Sandra Oh, the documentary received a special jury mention at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, and was cited by the jury panel as “not only an elegant portrayal of a unique individual but a story told with incredible clarity.”
Suggested donation is $5 for tickets, and a $10 bento will be available (order by Oct. 22). For tickets and additional information, contact Nancy Gohata at (818) 899-4237 or yaiko16@verizon.net.