HERMOSA BEACH — The Hermosa Beach Museum, 710 Pier Ave. in Hermosa Beach, in partnership with Manhattan Beach United, will present a screening of “Grandpa Cherry Blossom” on Thursday, May 18, in recognition of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Program starts at 6:30 p.m.
Registration is free and all are welcome. Go to www.eventbrite.com and search for “Grandpa Cherry Blossom,” email hermosabeachmuseum@gmail.com or call (310) 318-9421.
The documentary by Mira Costa High School student Maddox Chen explores the life of Francis Uyematsu, a Japanese immigrant, told through the words of Mary Uyematsu Kao, his granddaughter, and Chuck Currier, a local historian and former teacher. Uyematsu created a successful flower nursery, owning over 130 acres of land, until the mass incarceration during World War II, when he was forced to sell his land.
Entire neighborhoods now sit on his former land, filled with high schools and hundreds of homes, and the flowers he created are no longer his.
The screening will be followed by Q&A with Chen, Kao and Currier.
Chen is a filmmaker, animator and actor originally from New York City. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is a high school senior. His work as a filmmaker has been recognized in numerous competitions and festivals including YoungArts and IndieFEST, and as an actor, he has been featured in several commercials. He has taken the Cinematic Arts class at his high school for four years, along with film courses at New York University and USC over the summer. This fall, Chen will be pursuing a major in film and television production at NYU.
Learn more about Chen and his documentary at: https://www.maddoxchen.net/grandpa-cherry-blossom.html