Join the Japanese American National Museum’s Digital Film Festival for a Q&A with the grandchildren of Wakako Yamauchi, Momo Nagano, and Mary Nomura, the subjects of “Words, Weavings, & Songs” (2002) on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. PDT.
Alyctra Matsushita, Hana van der Steur, and Erin Nomura Marquez will talk about their grandmothers and their impacts on the Japanese American community and beyond. They will also be joined by Mary Kageyama Nomura, the Songbird of Manzanar herself, in a special appearance on the eve of her 95th birthday.
About the film: Yamauchi, Nagano and Nomura were three teenaged girls — American citizens living in Los Angeles in 1942 — when they were sent to concentration camps in remote parts of the country. Behind guard towers and barbed wire their creative spirits remained undaunted — their lives fortified by art, music and literature. Through archival footage and interviews with the subjects and their families, “Words, Weavings, & Songs” explores their bold lives and artistic legacies.
The film is available to stream starting on JANM’s YouTube Channel. Watch it now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBE4lRfxb2g
The JANM Digital Film Festival (JDFF) highlights works produced by the Emmy Award-winning Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center through virtual screenings and live Q&A sessions with those involved with the films.
Purchase the DVD at the JANM Store: https://janmstore.com/products/words-weavings-and-songs-dvd
Go to youtube.com/janmdotorg to watch the program live.