The PBS series “Artbound” will present “Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement” on PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus on the following dates:
Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal
Saturday, Nov. 2, at 2 a.m. on PBS SoCal
Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Thursday, Nov. 7, at 1 a.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Sunday, Nov 10, at 4 and 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This new documentary from the Japanese American National Museum’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center and PBS SoCal follows the life of visionary artist-activist Nobuko Miyamoto and her work that changed Asian America forever.
Featuring rare archival footage, “Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement” tells the story of a changing community through one of its most beloved storytellers as she reflects on decades of groundbreaking cultural work and a life that has bridged coasts, industries, families, and history.
The documentary, directed by Quyên Nguyen-Le and Tad Nakamura, has been screened at film festivals throughout the country over the past several months in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Houston, Denver, Phildelphia, Honolulu and even Paris. In November it will also be shown in Tokyo and Kyoto.
If you miss the broadcasts, or you live outside Southern California, you can stream it at your convenience as part of the “Artbound 2024” series on http://PBS.org.
Nobuko Miyamoto was born in Los Angeles and was only two years old when she was imprisoned in the Santa Anita temporary detention center. Upon returning to L.A., she pursued dance in film, including “West Side Story,” and later wrote “A Grain of Sand,” the first Asian American album. In 1978 she founded Great Leap and in 2021 she published her memoir, “Not Yo’ Butterfly.”
Tadashi Nakamura is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker and the director of JANM’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center. His films include “Mele Murals” (2016), “Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings” (2013), “A Song for Ourselves” (2009), and “Pilgrimage” (2006). He is currently a mentor for the 2024 CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) Fellowship and recipient of the 2024 Rockwood Documentary Leaders Fellowship.
Quyên Nguyen-Le is a Daytime Emmy–nominated queer Vietnamese filmmaker born to refugee parents where Chumash and Tongva lands meet (San Fernando Valley). Their work focuses on the ways histories are deeply felt in the quotidian everyday. Their films have screened in film festivals, art galleries, libraries, and community spaces worldwide.